Broken Faith
by SureFireWinners
Summary: While searching for Raphael, Dean encounters two woman; Faythe Reilly and Evangeline. One's an angel-killer and the other's a fallen angel. Now Dean has to keep them from killing each other, along with saving the world from the apocalypse. Dean/OC Castiel/OC. Set Season Five onwards.
1. Meeting with Angels

"Can I help you?"

Faythe Reilly pushed herself off of the counter and turned to face a tall, lanky man with dark-skin and a bald head. She pulled out a black wallet-looking object from her inside coat pocket and flipped it open to show the man an FBI badge with the name Agent Sarah O'Malley. He nodded his head and motioned for her to follow him. Once out of the main waiting area, he turned back towards her and waited for her explanation. She slipped her badge back inside the pocket and adjusted her coat over the suit she wore, something that made her look more professional and helped fuel the lie that she was an FBI agent.

"I need to speak with Deputy Walt Framingham?" She requested and the man nodded.

"I'm him. What can I help you with?" He asked.

"You were the one who was at that gas station that blew up, right?" She asked as she pulled out a notepad and pencil to help take notes if she needed it. He nodded. "Can you tell me what happened? I read it in the report, but I want to hear it first hand from you."

He nodded his head and led her into his office where he took a seat at his desk and motioned for her to sit in the chair across from him. "A call came in. Disturbance out at the Pump and Go on Route 4," He told her.

"What was the disturbance about?" She asked as she crossed her long legs, her skirt riding up a little bit with the motion before she pulled it back down.

"It was a riot, a full-scale riot. Thirty or four in a bloody battle. Next thing that happened, there was an explosion. They said it was one of those underground gas tanks, but I don't think so... it was pure white. The gas station was leveled... everything, everyone... it was just horrible. And then there was this one guy, he was kneeling on the ground, but not a single scratch on him. It was Donnie Finneman. He's a mechanic there," He explained to her.

"Do you know where he is now?" She asked.

"St. Peter's Hospital," He told her. After he gave her directions on how to get there, she shook his hand, thanked him and left the police station, heading in the way that he told her to go. Hopefully this would be the lead she was looking for, the lead on who killed her brother.

* * *

Dean Winchester let out a breath of annoyance as he held a washcloth under the running water from the sink in the motel room he was staying in. Once the rag had been wetted, he turned the water off and ringed it out so it was just damp before he began to wipe at a blood splatter on his jacket that he had obtained from killing a vampire a few hours previous. There was some shuffling from behind him and he glanced up to see a man with dark hair and blue eyes standing in the mirror wearing a trenchcoat.

"God," Dean said closing his eyes to calm his breathing back down to normal before he hit the sink with a closed fist. He hadn't been expecting someone to be behind him so when he saw Castiel, it had startled him. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. "Don't do that," He told the angel, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Hello, Dean," Castiel replied ignoring the hunter's obvious dislike of being startled. Dean rolled his eyes and dropped the washcloth into the sink before turning around only to see Castiel was merely inches from him.

"Cas, we've talked about this," Dean began as if he was lecturing a small child, which in some ways Castiel seemed to be. "Personal space?"

"My apologies," Castiel said as he stepped back to give Dean enough room to feel comfortable and Dean grabbed his jacket that he had just been cleaning before walking past Castiel into the middle of the room.

"How'd you find me? I thought I was flying below the angel radar?" Dean asked as he rubbed his ribs to prove his point, the spot where Castiel had carved Enochian sigils into the Winchester's bones to protect them from angels who might be looking for them. He tossed his jacket onto the bed and grabbed another shirt.

"You are," Castiel said as he turned to face the hunter. "Bobby told me where you were." He paused as he glanced around the room, obviously looking for something or... someone. "Where's Sam?" He asked.

"Me and Sam are taking separate vacations for a while," Dean replied as he slipped on another shirt over his gray-ish blue t-shirt. "So, you find God yet?" He paused and shook his head as if to correct himself. "More importantly, can I have my damn necklace back?"

"No, I haven't found him." He shook his head. "That's why I'm here. I need your help," He said and Dean looked surprised for a moment.

"With what? The God hunt?" He asked as he rolled up the sleeves of the overshirt to his elbows then shook his head. "Not interested."

"It's not God, it's someone else," Castiel replied.

"Who?" Dean asked.

"Archangel. The one who killed me," He explained.

"Excuse me?" Dean asked, waiting for further explanation.

"His name is Raphael," Castiel said and Dean cocked his head to the side, a smirk on his lips.

"You were wasted by a Teenage Mutant Ninja Angel?" He asked, a tone of sarcasm in his voice.

"I've heard whispers that he's walking the earth," Castiel said ignoring Dean's attempt at humor because he didn't understand the reference the hunter was making. He _rarely_understood any of the references Dean made. "This is a rare opportunity."

"For what? Revenge?" Dean asked him and Castiel shook his head.

"Information," The angel corrected. Dean sighed as he walked past Castiel again over to the sink and grabbed a rag and his knife from off the counter and began to clean off his knife.

"So, what, you think you can find this dude and he's just gonna spill God's address?" Dean asked, his back to Castiel.

"Yes," Castiel said. "Because we are going to trap him and interrogate him," He added and Dean turned around to face the angel's back. The hunter's emerald eyes held doubt on what was being said, but Castiel was a friend. He paused in the cleaning of his knife and sighed.

"You're serious about this?"

Castiel turned around to face him, to show him just how serious he was. "Yes," He replied simply and Dean sighed again before tossing the washcloth onto the counter behind him as he walked towards Castiel.

"So what?" He asked. "I'm Thelma and you're Louise, and we're just gonna hold hands and sail off this cliff together?" He questioned. Castiel stared at the hunter, confusion in his blue eyes. Dean sighed and closed his eyes. His reference had been lost on the angel once again. He stepped around Castiel and slid his knife into his bag. "Give me one good reason why I should do this?" He questioned his friend.

"Because you're Michael's vessel," Castiel replied as he turned to face Dean. "And no angel will dare harm you."

Dean's eyes widened as he glanced at Castiel. "Oh, so I'm your bullet shield?" Instead of answering the question, Castiel turned completely to face the hunter, the seriousness of the situation in his sapphire orbs.

"I need your help because you are the only one who will help me," He told him. "Please." Dean sighed, unable to tell a friend no.

"All right, fine. Where is he?"

"Maine," Castiel replied. He reached two fingers towards Dean forehead but the emerald-eyed hunter jerked back and held his hands up.

"Whoa! Whoa!" He exclaimed and Castiel brought his hand back down by his side.

"What?" He asked, confused by Dean's actions.

"The last time you zapped me some place I didn't poop for a week," He replied. "We're driving," He added, his tone implying there was no room for negotiations. He grabbed his duffel bag and slung it over his shoulder before leading the way out of the room after turning off the lights. He tossed his bag into the trunk of the Impala, pulled out his keys and-after signing out from the motel-drove away.

* * *

Dean drove the Impala to Main, which was only a few hours from the motel he had been staying out until Castiel had requested his help. Once there, he parked the car on the curb of the road and got out, Castiel following his lead. Since leaving the motel, Dean had changed into a suit and tie, making him look more official. Since Castiel was already wearing a suit, he hadn't needed to do much. Dean sighed as he stepped up on the sidewalk beside the angel and turned to face him, a little annoyed from being tired without any sleep in the past few weeks.

"Okay, tell me again. We're here why?" Dean asked.

"A deputy sheriff laid eyes on the archangel," Castiel replied.

"And he still has eyes?" Dean asked him, confused. "All right, what's the plan?" He questioned after Castiel had nodded his head.

Castiel looked confused. He thought the plan of action was obvious. "We'll... tell the officer that he witnessed an angel of the Lord, and the officer will tell us where the angel is."

"Seriously? You're going to walk in there and tell him the truth?" Dean replied, not understanding Castiel's logic, but then he had to realize the angel had never done anything like this before, so he didn't know the ways to question others.

"Why not?" Castiel asked.

"Because we're human," Dean replied as he reached through the open window of the Impala and pulled out two ID badges. He flipped one open to see which one it was, and then slipped it into the inside pocket of his suit coat then slipped the other one into Castiel's coat. "And when humans want something." He paused to button up Castiel's shirt then adjust his tie higher up. "really, really bad, we lie." He grinned innocently at his friend.

"Why?" Castiel asked.

"Because." He continued to grin. "That's how you become president." With that, he led the way inside the building where they asked to talk with Deputy Framingham who led them into his office after telling them he had lost his hearing in his one ear from the explosion.

"A call came in," Deputy Framingham began. "Disturbance out at the Pump and Go on Route 4."

"What kind of disturbance?" Dean asked.

"Would not have believed my eyes if I hadn't seen it myself. We're talking a riot. Full scale," Framingham told him.

"How many?" Dean questioned.

"Thirty, forty, in all-out kill-or-be-killed combat?" Framingham said, trying to remember and Dean nodded.

"Any idea what set them off?" The question had of course been directed at the sheriff, but Castiel took it upon himself to answer.

"It's angels and demons, probably," The angel replied and Framingham glanced at him, confused. Castiel then felt the need to explain further. "They're skirmishing all over the globe."

"Come again?" Framingham asked and glanced at Dean. "What'd he say?"

"Nothing," Dean said at the same time Castiel said 'demons'. Dean shot him a dark glare and tried again. "Nothing," He repeated but Castiel said the same thing. Dean glared at him hard and Castiel glanced away, choosing now to be quiet.

"Demons, you know, drink, adultery. We all have our demons, Walt," Dean said when he turned back to face the sheriff.

"I guess..." Framingham said, not completely convinced.

"Anyway, what happened next?" Dean asked, urging the subject along before Castiel said anything else that would let the man know he was an angel. He might as well just be wearing a giant neon sign that said "I'm an angel of the Lord, come to do his bidding." Dean shook his head at the image and figured it best to get Castiel out of there fast.

He learned that the explosion wasn't like a gas tank leak or whatever the report had said because the fire had been pure white. They also learned that a man had been in the middle of the damage and hadn't been hurt in anyway. They go this name, and thanked the deputy for his time before exiting the building. Dean gave Castiel a look once they got in the Impala, and the angel simply gave him a confused look. Dean rolled his eyes at the look before starting up the Impala and driving to the hospital where Donnie Finneman was located.

They arrived, entered the hospital and walked to the room where Donnie was being held. Once there, they saw a black man in a wheelchair, his head hanging low and his eyes closed. He was there, but not there. Dean and Castiel watched the man from the hallway window, not wanting to go in and bother him. Dean sighed before turning to the angel, who had a disappointed look on his face. By the look on his face, Dean knew this wasn't Raphael anymore. It was just an empty vessel that the angel had left.

"I take it that's not Raphael anymore?" Dean asked, clarifying.

"Just an empty vessel," Castiel replied.

"So is this what I'm looking at if Michael jumps in my bones?" Dean asked, wanting to know what would happen to him if he said yes. Castiel turned to face Dean, completely serious.

"No, not at all. Michael is much more powerful. It'll be far worse for you," Castiel replied being completely honest, and Dean glanced away, not liking the answer.

"We should get out of here," He said as he headed back down the hallway to leave the place and noticed a familiar female walk into the building. He narrowed his eyes at her. This wouldn't be a nice reunion.

* * *

Faythe pulled the handbrake to her Toyota Hilux. Around it were various weapons and books, discarded uselessly. She ignored them and pushed open the door, climbing out as she straightened her skirt. She crossed the car park and the automatic doors slid open, below a giant sign. It read "Saint Pete's Hospital." As she walked in, the receptionist glanced up. He saw a woman about 5'7" walking towards him purposefully. She had short, cropped hair that was a deep brown colour. It allowed her bottle green eyes to be seen clearly. As she approached the desk, he noticed they had dark blue rings around them.

"Hi," he said, looking up from his computer and trying not to notice her athletic body that defined her curves. "Are you here to visit someone?" She gave him a charming smile.

"Yes, I'm here to see Donnie Finnemann," she said, her voice curving richly around the words. The receptionist glanced down at his keyboard, tapping the patient's name in.

"He's in room 304 on the second floor." Faythe pushed herself off the desk, giving him another smile.

"Thanks," she said, turning and walking over to the stairwell.

She avoided lifts when she could. She'd had far too many bad experiences with them. She walked along the corridor until she found room 304. She peered in through the window, not wanting to go inside the room yet. A black man sat catatonic in the middle of the room, in a wheelchair. He didn't seem to be moving. From what Faythe had experienced with angels, usually they were more active than this. Maybe it was a ruse? She paced outside the window, thinking for a few minutes before softly pushing the door open.

"Donnie?" she asked as she walked over to the man. There was no reply and as she came round in front of him, she could see he was completely comatose. She didn't know whether to be happy he wasn't an angel, or disappointed she'd lost her lead. "Donnie?" she asked again, raising her voice a little louder.

There was still no response.

She turned away, angrily exiting the room and slamming the door. Every angel she didn't find was her failing herself and her brother. She needed to clear her head. She walked back down the stairs and crossed the hospital foyer quickly, ignoring the receptionist's voice.

There was a café across the road and she made her way across the street. She ordered a short black and got an energy drink as well, quickly drinking them. The sudden buzz calmed her brain and helped her think. The hospital lead was the best she'd had in months and what had it given her? Nothing but a dead end. She sighed, despondent. There was nothing she could do with the man sitting up in the room. Nothing she could think of right now, anyway. But it was all she had.

"Can I get that coffee to go?" she asked the waitress and she nodded, before bringing over Faythe's drink.

She stood up, kicking the chair back under the table before walking back across the road. As the doors slid open for her again, two men crossed the foyer she'd been in earlier. One was shorter, wearing jeans and a leather jacket. He had piercing green eyes that scanned the room. The other's face was set in a pained expression. He had a cream coloured trench coat over what looked like a suit. He was also familiar to Faythe. She narrowed her eyes before realising it was the angel she'd tried to kill several months earlier.

Her hand automatically went to the angel's blade tucked into the back of her jeans. The man beside him caught her eye, noticing her and her odd movements. He began to move over to her. Faythe narrowed her eyes, her other hand going to her gun. _One should always be on one's guard._

"I don't think so," Dean said as he grabbed her wrist just as it pulled out the blade from behind her back. He held onto her other wrist when she reached for her gun. "Let's take this outside? Shall we?" He asked and without waiting for a response from her, he led her outside and around the building before letting her go just as she yanked out of his grasp, her eyes blazing at him.

"Is that anyway to greet a lady?" She questioned and Dean scoffed.

"You're hardly what I would consider a lady," Dean replied smirking when her eyes narrowed further at him before redirecting onto the angel behind him. Dean sidestepped and stood in the way of her gaze. "What are you doing here, Faythe?" He questioned her.

"The same reason you are. The angels involved," Faythe replied, looking back at Dean.

"Can I trust you not to attempt to kill, Cas?" Dean asked her and Faythe sighed exaggeratedly before holding her hands up in surrender.

"I will not attempt to kill him. Now, tell me what you know," She said.

"Probably nothing different than you," Dean said. "That man in there is nothing but an empty vessel," He said. "We have no way of finding the archangel."

"Not necessarily," Castiel said speaking up. "You just have to know how to communicate with them," He added and Faythe glanced at him.

"So Angel Boy here can help us?" Faythe asked.

"Hold up," Dean began. "what is this 'we'? I didn't say you could go with us."

"You didn't say I couldn't. Look, I'm just trying to find the angel that killed my brother, all right?" She said. "If I have to kill a few along the way, oh well."

"Killing the angels isn't gonna bring him back," Dean said but sighed at the annoyed look she was giving him. "Fine. You can tag along. If you don't interfere with what we have to learn," Dean told her and she nodded her head.

"I'll do what you tell me."

"Last time I checked, you didn't submit to orders all that easily, Faythe," Dean said dryly.

Castiel stood behind him silently. Faythe groaned inwardly. She hated it when he was right. Because she didn't submit to orders. She'd met Dean Winchester about three months back but she'd heard about him long before that. She'd been tracking an angel, Castiel was his name. She'd finally caught him and questioned him. He denied any knowledge of her brother, but Faythe had been ready to dispose of him anyway. She'd been about to slide the angel's blade through his throat when someone had stopped her. And that someone had been Dean Winchester. She'd been pissed off but she'd heard enough about him as a hunter to respect his wishes and they'd reached an understanding. She wasn't to harm Castiel.

"I do when there's something I really, really want," Faythe said, rolling her eyes. Dean appraised her, still unconvinced. "And I really, really want to kill some motherfucking angels." Dean smirked as she swore.

"And you tried to convince me you were a lady," he said. Faythe glared at him.

"Cut the crap Dean. I know you know what to do about the archangel because of your little friend here," she said. "So tell me what I need to do and let's get it done." There was a silence as Dean glanced at Castiel.

"We're going to try and summon him. If you're not there, your loss," was all Dean would say. Faythe nodded, before holding her hand out for her blade.

"Can I have my knife back?" she asked. As Dean pulled it out from his jacket, Castiel's eyes widened.

"That is not a knife," he said, sounding horrified she could disrespect it be calling it that. "That is the blade of the angel Ezekiel." Faythe took the blade hilt first and slid it back into her jeans, before looking at the angel.

"Is that a problem?" she asked, a hint of menace entering her voice. Dean glanced at Castiel warningly, but he ignored it.

"No angel would have willingly surrendered their blade," Castiel told her. Her eyes narrowed further as she pulled it back out of her jeans, running her finger along the edge of it.

"Well let's just say I acquired it somehow."

"Killing my brothers isn't going to bring yours back," Castiel said, repeating Dean's earlier words.

However, an angel saying it-the very same species that killed her brother-had a much different effect on Faythe. Faythe's eyes flashed and in the next minute, she had Castiel pressed up against a wall, her hand pressing across his windpipe and the angel's blade in her hand, pointing directly at his throat. She was breathing heavily. Dean grabbed her and yanked her back, glaring at her. Faythe ignored him, her eyes locking with Castiel's, blazing with anger.

"You aren't worthy enough to speak of him." she said before she turned and stalked away.

* * *

"Why are we here?" Faythe asked as she stepped out of her car and glanced at the scene before her. In front of them was a rundown wooden cabin, the steps tilting to one side. The boards that had been nailed over the windows, some were hanging off by a single nail. The windows that she could see were covered in dust and dirt, making it difficult to see into the house. She shook her head, it looked like something straight out of a horror movie. Why couldn't they pick safer places to stay in?

"We needed a place to hide out," Dean replied as he walked up the steps, each one creaking painfully as he stepped on it.

"And you couldn't pick a place that looked more steady?" She asked as she followed him into the house with Castiel behind them.

"You know of a place to go to, let me know," Dean commented sarcastically as he walked into the middle of the front room. There were some boxes lined up against the wall, nothing in them of course. But those were the only things that were inside the house.

"Whatever," Faythe muttered under her breath. Dean turned to say something to Castiel, but he had disappeared, and the hunter rolled his eyes.

"Great. Thanks for the warning, Cas," Dean called out to the air before turning to Faythe. "Why do you think killing these angels is going to bring your brother back?" He asked and instead of answering him, she sat down on one of the boxes and changed the subject.

"What's our next plan?" She asked him. Dean rolled his eyes before sitting down on a box as well and flipped through the pages of his father's journal.

"Not sure. I'm gonna see if my dad knows anything about angels, and we'll go from there." He flipped another page while Faythe pulled out a knife and flipped it around, a habit she had developed out of boredom.

"So, where's Sam?" She asked.

"Him and I split up for the time being," Dean replied casually and Faythe stopped twirling the knife, taken off guard by his answer. When she had run into them last, Dean had been overprotective of his little brother. It hardly seemed they would ever split up.

"You what?" She asked.

Dean glanced up at her. "Did I stutter?" He asked before going back to looking through his father's journal.

"No... it's just-I didn't think you guys would split up," Faythe stated, his voice full of shock.

"Yeah, well... we did," He said, not looking back up at her. There was a fluttering sound behind him, and Dean turned to see Castiel standing there with a ceramic jar in his hands. He set it down on the table as Dean stood up. "Where have you been?"

"Jerusalem," Castiel replied, and Dean looked taken back by the answer. He nodded his head, trying to process it.

"Oh? How was it?"

"Arid," Castiel replied again.

"What's that?" Faythe asked, motioning to the jar as she came to stand by the two men.

"It's oil. It's very special. Very rare," Castiel told her as he sat down.

"Okay, so we trap Raphael with a nice vinaigrette?" Dean asked him and Castiel stared at him for a few minutes before speaking.

"No," He said and Dean rolled his eyes.

"So this ritual of yours, when does it got to go down?" Dean asked.

"Sunrise," Castiel said.

"Tell me something. You keep saying we're gonna trap this guy. Isn't that kinda like trapping a hurricane with a butterfly net?" Dean asked and Castiel shook his head.

"No, it's harder."

"Do we have any chance of surviving this?" Faythe asked him.

"You two do," Castiel replied and Dean's mouth fell open in shock.

"So odds are you're a dead man tomorrow," Dean said and Castiel nodded.

"Yes."

"Well. Last night on earth. What are your plans?" Dean asked him and Castiel glanced at him, not understanding.

"I just thought I'd sit here quietly," The angel replied and Faythe couldn't help but laugh at how innocent Castiel was.

"Come on, anything? Booze, women?" Dean asked, searching for anything Castiel might like or want to do. The only response Dean received was an uncomfortable look from the angel.

"You have been with women before. Right? Or an angel, at least?" Dean asked, correcting himself and Faythe stared at him.

"You do know all angels are related, right?" She questioned him and Dean glanced at her before looking back at Castiel who shook his head.

"I've never had occasion, okay?" The angel replied a little annoyed.

"All right," Dean said as he stood up and grabbed his jacket. "Let me tell you something. There are two things I know for certain. One, Bert and Ernie are gay,' He explained as he put his jacket on. "Two, you are not gonna die a virgin. Not on my watch. Let's go." With that, he walked out of the door. Castiel glanced up at Faythe before following Dean out. Faythe laughed at the conversation that had just taken place before following them. This would probably be the funniest thing she had ever witnessed, Dean trying to get an angel laid.

Dean watched Faythe climb into her car from the front seat of the Impala. He wound his window down and indicated for her to do the same so he could speak to her.

"You're not coming with us." It was a statement, not a question. Faythe raised her eyebrows.

"Why not?"

"For one, you said you'd follow orders. For two, do you have any idea where we're going?" he asked her. Castiel sat uncomfortably in the front seat beside Dean. Faythe leaned out of the window, trying to look threatening as she could.

"For one," she began, mimicking Dean. "I think that if I let you out of my sight, you'll exclude me from pawning a motherfucking angel," she said. "And for two, I'm not some delicate flower, Dean. I can survive wherever you're going." Dean rolled his eyes, knowing he wouldn't be able to win.

"Probably only because you've worked there beforem" he muttered loud enough for her to hear before rolling his window up. She glared at him, revving her engine and following Dean when he pulled out.

He drove down the main highway and back into the town. The sun slowly sank under the horizon, casting a dark air perfectly fitting or the events that were going to take place later that night. Dean pulled the Impala into a parking lot underneath a brightly lit building. Its large neon sign read "Firecats" with a figure of a naked woman beside it, also in neons. Faythe rolled her eyes in disgust, pulling on the handbrake. She climbed out of the ute, making her way over to Dean's car. She appreciated the Impala he seemed to adore, but she felt it didn't have enough convenience for their job.

"Really? You're getting an _angel _laid _here_?" she hissed to Dean as he began to make his way to the building with a smirk.

"Not just the angel," he said with a lecherous wink.

Faythe rolled her eyes, following him inside. Dean lead a very lost looking Castiel to a table, smirking at Castiel looking around at all the skimpily clad women in wonderment. He then ordered Castiel a beer and looked around to size his own woman up. Faythe followed them, sitting around the far side of the booth and ignoring everything, drinking a rum and coke. Castiel leaned forward, looking terrified. Dean chuckled.

"Hey relax," he told the angel.

"This is a den of iniquity," he said. "I should not be here."

"All you angels are dirty murderers anyway, does it really matter that you're in a whorehouse?" Faythe asked rhetorically, rolling her eyes. Dean shot her a glare before turning back to Castiel.

"Dude, you full on rebelled from heaven. Iniquity is one of the perks," he said, raising his bottle to his lips.

A blonde girl in a white outfit approached their table, a seductive smirk on her face. The word outfit was used in the loosest sense—it was a pair of underwear and a white bra, her midriff covered by some sort of gauzy white material. Castiel locked eyes with Faythe, to avoid looking at her. Faythe merely stared the angel down stonily before shaking her head.

"Hi." The hooker had reached their table. She had a soft voice that suited her outfit. "What's your name?" she asked. Castiel ignored her, clutching his beer hard.

"Cas," Dean said, smirking as Castiel jumped out of his reveries. "His name is Cas. What's your name?" he asked.

"Chastity."

"Oh God, you have got to be joking," Faythe muttered and Chastity gave her a dirty look.

"Chastity," Dean repeated, smirking at the irony. She nodded, returning her gaze to Castiel, who finally looked up at her fearfully, after draining his beer. "Wow," Dean said, glancing uncertainly at the angel. "Is that kismet or what, buddy? Well, he likes you, you like him, so dayenu." He finished the last part by lifting his glass.

"Come on baby," Chastity said, taking Castiel by the hand and leading him out of the booth.

Castiel allowed himself to be lead like a cow to the slaughterhouse. Faythe watched him go, simultaneously disgusted and glad to be out of the company of an angel. She couldn't help but think that if he wasn't one of her most hated enemies, she'd want to comfort him due to lost expression on his face. Dean quickly went after him, catching Castiel's arm while he muttered a few words and handed over a bundle of notes. The angel still looked as lost as ever.

"Go get him tiger," Dean said, clapping a hand on his arm and returning to his seat. "And now for my own score. Should be a lot easier," he said, looking around the bar.

"It's not a score if you have to pay, Dean," Faythe told him.

"Faythe, stop killing the mood and go hook up with one of the bouncers or something. Or better yet, how about you," he said, pointing at Faythe, "loosen up and hook up with a friend." The manner in which he said it meant the meaning was unmistakable.

"You're disgusting," Faythe told him as he stood.

He smirked, his eyes travelling over the many women in the room. One caught his eye, but not for the reasons he was looking for. She had long, wavy blonde hair tumbling around her face, framing innocent blue eyes. Innocent eyes that did _not_belong in a brothel. As Dean surveyed the rest of her, he realised she wasn't a hooker. She was wearing a white dress that floated behind her as she picked her way through the crowd, yet unlike Chastity's outfit, it showed little skin.

Nevertheless, it clung close to her body and Dean had no trouble noticing the curves on the petite woman. However, he grew uncomfortable when she appeared to be making her way towards him. Her eyes locked with his and his hand unconsciously went to the gun tucked into the back of his jeans, hidden by his jacket. He glanced back at Faythe, who was ignoring all her surroundings, before looking back to the blonde woman. As she came closer, Dean could see that she was tiny, about 5'0", he reckoned. When she was in earshot to him, she spoke.

"Where is Castiel?" Dean froze, immediately running his options through his head. He decided anonymity was the best plan of action.

"Castiel?" he asked, feigning ignorance. The blonde's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"I am an angel. I saw you with him. I need to see him." Before Dean could reply, there was a scream from the direction Castiel disappeared in.

"Can you hold that thought for just one second?" he asked. The blonde nodded, following him as he moved through to the back corridor. Chastity was leaning forwards, obviously angry as Castiel stood their dishevelled.

"Get out of my face! Leave me alone! Bastard! Screw you, jerk!" she yelled at him. Dean chuckled from the other end of the hallway, before Chastity turned and made her way back down. "Screw you too!" she yelled in Dean's face as she made her way past. Dean walked up to Castiel, Evangeline obscured behind him.

"The hell did you do?" Dean asked, obviously confused as to how Castiel could mess up sex with a hooker. Castiel turned to Dean, the lost expression plastered all over his face.

"I don't know. I just looked her in the eyes and told her it wasn't her fault that her father Gene ran off. It was because he hated his job at the post office," he told Dean seriously. Dean stared at him.

"No, oh no man! This whole industry _runs_on absent fathers!" There was a noise from the top end of the corridor, where Chastity had disappeared to. Two bouncers appeared, ready to find out what the cause of the scream was and Dean turned back to Castiel. "We don't want to meet them" he said. "And plus, a friend of yours showed up," he said, stepping to the side and gesturing to the blonde angel. Castiel's eyes widened in surprise.

"Eva—" he began to say before he was cut off by Dean shoving him down the hallway. They all hurried before exiting out of the back door.

Once outside, they all turned and looked at each other.

"So Cas. Care to explain who Blondie here is?" Dean asked. At the mention of the nickname, the blonde girl glared at him. The difference in temperament was instantly apparent in her eyes, as they drove icily through him.

"I am the angel Evangeline," she said. "Why are you here Castiel? This is a den of iniquity." Dean couldn't stop himself laughing. It seemed the angels all followed a pattern.

"It's no concern. I believe my question would be more applicable. Why are you here?" He asked. There was a pause. "On Earth," Castiel clarified. Evangeline glanced at Dean. "This is Dean Winchester. We can trust him."

"After you saved Dean Winchester, I... I rebelled," she admitted, looking up at him. Castiel frowned.

"You went against our brothers and sisters for me?" he asked, to clarify what she was saying. She nodded. "And now you are here," he said, stepping forward and placing a hand on her arm "Where is your Grace?" Evangeline's cheeks coloured slightly.

"I lost it when I fell... I don't know where it is." At that moment, she looked just as lost as the elder angel. An Angel's Grace was their most important possession. It allowed them to communicate with other angels and access the powers of Heaven. However, when an angel rebelled, their Grace was generally misplaced as they became human. "I've been trying to find another angel," she told them. Castiel nodded.

"And now you have found me, sister," he said, a hint of familiarity entering his voice. Evangeline gave him a half smile, glancing uncertainly at Dean.

"Well I hate to break up this little happy family reunion but don't we have more pressing matters?" Dean asked, rolling his eyes.

"Such as?" Evangeline asked.

"Such as an appointment with a megalomaniacal angel, as well as an anti-angel hunter who's hanging out with us." The human slang was lost on Evangeline.

"Hanging out?" she asked. Before Dean could explain, Castiel cut him off.

"Evangeline. Dean has a woman friend who does not like our species because one of us killed her brother." Evangeline's lips parted in shock. "Normally I would not consider her such a threat but she carries Ezekiel's blade. I suggest you keep your true identity a secret until we can ascertain she will not harm you." Evangeline looked about ready to protest, or at the very least press Castiel with questions but he held up a hand to stop her. "All will be explained in good time, Eva."

The nickname surprised Dean. Evangeline still looked very troubled but she nodded. Dean began to walk around back to the front of the bar and Castiel and Evangeline followed behind him. When they emerged into the carpark, they saw Faythe leaning against the hood of her Hilux.

"Figured you'd show up sooner or later," she said, smirking before she noticed Evangeline. "Who's this?" she asked, keeping her face straight but her hand going to her blade.

"This is Evangeline. She's a friend of Ca—mine. A friend of mine" Dean amended. If Faythe thought she was a friend of Castiel's and she knew he was an angel, she would surely put two and two together.

"Friend?" she queried, her tone slightly suspicious.

"From New York," Dean said, and her face relaxed when Dean didn't say anything more. Faythe nodded before moving around to the driver's door. "Don't we have a date with some ass-angel?" she asked. Dean rolled his eyes.

"We sure do," he answered, turning to the angels and gesturing for them to climb into the Impala. Evangeline's eyes grew wide as Castiel opened the door and climbed inside, and she was expected to do the same.

"What is this?" she asked curiously, in a perfectly normal tone. Faythe, who had since wound her window down again, raised her eyebrows, sensing something didn't quite add up.

"You live in New York and you've never seen a car?" she asked dubiously. Before Evangeline could respond, Dean glanced over the car.

"It's a '67 Chevy Impala," Dean said before rolling his eyes. "Get in," He added, and Evangeline glanced at him uncertainly before opening the back door of the Impala and climbing into the back seat before Dean drove off.

"We need to go back to Raphael's vessel," Castiel informed Dean who nodded his head before going down the road towards the hospital.


	2. Figured You Out

Dean drove to the hospital where the empty vessel of Raphael was located, Faythe following behind him. They both parked their cars and got out with Dean walking around to the side of the car where the two angels were standing. He stood close to Evangeline and stared down into her blue orbs to make sure she heard him.

"You need to be quiet," He whispered so Faythe couldn't here. "Just don't speak. Don't say anything," He said, and she only blinked her blue eyes in response. "If she figures out you're an angel..." He paused to glance at Faythe before back to Evangeline. "it's not gonna be pretty," He finished. "So just... be quiet."

She nodded her head. "Okay," Was all she could say before Faythe walked over to them.

"Well, we going or not?" She asked and Dean nodded before leading the way into the hospital and up to Donnie's room.

He ushered the three others inside, and Dean waited out in the hallway to make sure the coast was clear. Once a nurse passed by him, Dean waited until she was around the corner before he opened the door and slipped inside the room. He locked the door and pulled down the blinds around the window as Castiel poured the oil he had obtained earlier that day in a circle around Donnie's wheelchair. Faythe was leaning against the wall, a bored expression on her face while Evangeline's eyes darted around the room, trying to understand what they were doing. She opened her mouth to say something, but Dean caught her gaze and shook his head. She stopped herself from speaking and fidgeted in her spot uncomfortably.

"When the oil burns, no angel can touch or pass through the flames, or he dies," Castiel explained to Dean and Faythe.

"Okay, so we trap him in a steel cage of holy fire, but one question. How the hell do we get him here?" Dean asked Castiel.

"There's a connection between a vessel and the angel that occupied it," Evangeline spoke up in answer to Dean's question.

"How do you know about that?" Faythe asked her, and Dean glanced at Evangeline before looking at Faythe.

"She studied angel lore and all that jazz," Dean replied quickly. Faythe gave him an odd look but said nothing as Castiel leaned down and chanted in Enochian quietly into Donnie's ear from behind before.

"I'm here, Raphael," He said once the chant was finished. "Come and get me, you little bastard," He said as he stepped out of the circle.

"Just out of curiosity, what is the average customer wait time to speak to an archangel?" Dean asked Castiel as he grabbed a match.

"Be ready," Was his only response before sliding the match against the sandpaper and it caught ablaze before he dropped it onto the oil. The fire spread along the circle and lit up with flames around Donnie. He stepped back and there was silence for a moment before Faythe broke it.

"Well, this is boring," She stated.

"What? Did you think everything would be all guns blazing, and you'd get to kill an angel?" Dean questioned her with a roll of his eyes. "You said you'd follow orders, and we're not killing anyone tonight." Faythe stiffened almost imperceptibly before turning her head away, saying nothing. It was Castiel who broke the silence.

"I believe we have failed to summon Raphael," he said. Dean looked at the angel incredulously.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" he asked, stepping forward to extinguish the fire. He noticed Evangeline seemed to keep her distance from it, as any angel would, and hoped that Faythe didn't notice this.

"This is a waste of time," Faythe muttered. Dean glared at her.

"You're just annoyed you didn't get to kill anyone tonight," he said harshly, and she returned the glare.

"Not anyone. Any _angel_. I'm not a murderer Dean," she said, her stance defensive.

"So you see us as subhuman when we are, in fact, the opposite?" Castiel asked mildly, picking up the jar that contained the oil. Faythe shook her head, too angry to reply to the elder angel. She walked across the room, kicking the door open and stormed out of the hospital. Castiel turned to Dean.

"Is she always like this?" he asked, a frown playing on his face. Dean shrugged.

"I haven't known her long enough to judge but that woman has a serious grudge against you guys," he said, running a hand through his hair.

The gesture reminded him of Sam's long hair, and his little brother doing the exact same thing. His phone was in his pocket. He could quite easily call him and see how he was, or even where he was. But he didn't. The rest of the group made their way out of the hospital, leaving Donnie Finnemann confined to his wheelchair. Once down in the car park, Castiel pulled Dean to side, speaking in a low voice so Evangeline couldn't hear.

"Dean. I have a favour to ask of you." His words surprised Dean, it wasn't often he could do anything for the most powerful supernatural creatures in existence.

"You can ask, but it doesn't mean I'll accept," he said, cautious of what Castiel could want.

"This is a serious matter, Dean."

"When is it not?" he asked, rolling his eyes. "What is it?"

"Evangeline... she has misplaced her Grace," Castiel began, as if this should explain everything. Dean shrugged again.

"Yeah, and?"

"I don't think you quite understand the gravity of this, Dean. An angel without their Grace is not an angel at all. Evangeline is essentially human. She cannot travel with me; she would draw attention and hamper my efforts.

"I don't see where you're going..." Dean said, trailing off as he looked over at the blonde girl. "Aw, c'mon Cas!" he said, finally understanding what the angel was asking of him. "I spent the last three years babysitting Sammy; I don't need another job on top of this one."

"Dean, you know I would not ask anything of you if it wasn't important," Castiel said, completely unaware he was guilt tripping Dean slightly. Dean glanced over at Evangeline again, who was standing by the Impala, looking wonderingly at the sky.

"Fine. But if she gets hurt, it's not my problem", he said, knowing that he wouldn't let Evangeline get hurt in any case. She was an innocent, defenceless girl. However, that didn't grant her complete immunity from Dean's charm.

"Thank you Dean," said Castiel before he vanished. At the movement, Evangeline glanced up and began making her way over to Dean.

Evangeline watched the tall man talk to her brother before Castiel disappeared. Dean looked annoyed and ran a hand through his hair before letting out a breath of air. Evangeline pushed herself off of the black object the oldest Winchester called a car before making her way over to him, cautiously. She didn't know where Castiel had gone or why he had left. She also didn't know why he and Dean seemed so adamant on summoning Raphael. She had noticed that was Raphael's vessel, besides that, it had a distinct aura about it, one that was colored distinctly to match Raphael's. Dean had turned his back on Evangeline as he placed his hands on the top of his head, trying to figure out what to do.

"Where did Castiel go?" Evangeline asked to his back, and he turned around to face her.

"I have no clue. I don't know where he goes to half the time he zaps away," Dean replied before shaking his head. "Lucky for you, you're stuck with me," He said and Evangeline simply replied with blinking her large blue eyes at him.

"I do not understand... how is that lucky for me?" She questioned, her nose scrunching up in confusion and Dean rolled his eyes.

"Nevermind. Let's just get out of here," He said as he headed back to the Impala and got in the driver's side.

Evangeline, once again hesitated, before getting in as well. She folded her hands in her lap and tried to make herself as small as possible in the seat, a feat that Dean noticed wasn't too hard for the fallen angel. She sat in the middle of it, her hands in her lap, like she was afraid to touch anything. If he was going to convince Faythe this blonde was a normal human, he had a long way to go, and not enough time. Faythe was a good hunter, she'd figure something out eventually, especially if Evangeline kept this act up.

"Could you maybe act a little less obvious?" Dean asked as he drove down the road to the wooden cabin his stuff was currently occupying.

Evangeline, once again, blinked her blue eyes at him in confusion. "I do not understand."

"Faythe's a hunter, who hunts angels. One, such as yourself, who is currently incapable of defending yourself, is perfect for her radar," He explained. "You've got to stop acting so... confused all the time."

"But-"

"You're confused. I get it. This is all new to you, but sweetheart, you're gonna have to try," Dean said. Evangeline nodded her head.

"I will... do my best," She said, and Dean sighed. There were so many differences between her and how humans were.

For one, the way she talked. She talked like Castiel, very slow and spacing out the words, making sure they were understood and easy to hear, like she didn't want something to get lost in the translation of what she was saying. She didn't use contractions like most people would when she talked. Evangeline's voice was very soft and had an air of-Dean couldn't think of a right word-authority? no, self-righteous? no. It was like she had knowledge, and she wanted to share, wanted to help out all she could.

Another thing that seemed different about Evangeline from humans: she seemed innocent. Way too innocent. She seemed very naive, and that could get her in trouble. And Dean since he was supposed to be babysitting her. He rolled his eyes at the thought. _Babysitting a fallen angel, who woulda thunk?_He thought annoyed. He wasn't supposed to have anyone to look out for since Sam was off on his own. But now he had to watch an angel who had lost her Grace, and would probably attract demons.

Dean paused. Demons. They would be after Evangeline because she still had all that information from heaven, she still could hear angels talking in their native language, she could hear the whispers from angels. Demons would want that, just like they had wanted Anna. Dean shook his head, and pursed his lips in frustration. _Great. Not only am I babysitting, I'm now acting like a freakin' bodyguard. _He groaned in annoyance. He did _not_get paid enough to do all of this. But, Castiel had asked, and Castiel rarely asked for anything from him. So, when he did ask something from Dean, Dean felt obligated to do as he wished. He returned his gaze to Evangeline, inspecting her for anything that might give her away.

"Is that the only dress you have?" he asked. It was very... angelic. It seemed to be the only way to describe it.

"This is the dress I fell in," Evangeline replied, looking up at him with wide eyes. He sighed. He didn't know how to help her with this. Dean didn't know what to do, for once in his life. So he did the only thing he could think of. He reached into his waistband and pulled out his gun and held it out to Evangeline.

"Why are you giving me a gun?" she asked, her voice sharper than normal. _It was a start_Dean thought, if she knew what weapons were.

"Listen, Blondie, if we're going to pass you off as a hunter, or even a normal human, you need to do exactly as I say. Take the gun," he said, extending his hand further.

"Why do you call me that?" she asked, tilting her head slightly to the side, as if she was he one surveying him.

"A hunter?" Dean asked, running everything he'd just said over in his head.

"No, Blondie. Is it normal for humans to give nicknames relating to their hair colour?" she asked, a slight smile crossing her face. Without waiting for Dean to reply, she continued. "In that case, I shall call you light brunette," she told him. "Or, you know, dark blonde depending on how the light hits it." Dean stared at her, trying to figure out if she was serious or not.

"That is _exactly_what I'm talking about," he muttered.

"What are you talking about, light brunette?" Evangeline asked as she got out of the car once Dean had turned it off, back in front of the cabin. "Or perhaps I should shorten your new name to the initials L.B."

"And then it could stand for little bitch?" Faythe offered as she walked up behind them. Both Dean and Evangeline jumped, hoping she hadn't heard most of which they'd been talking about.

"Decided to join us at last then?" Dean asked, folding his arms as he looked down at Faythe. She raised her palms out in the universal 'I come in peace- look no weapons' gesture.

"I suppose I have. Don't say you're not delighted by my company," she said, rolling her eyes before frowning as she took in her surroundings. "Where's angel boy?" she asked, her hand going to a small chain at her neck. Dean couldn't see what hung off it, her hand obscured it but she was spinning it over in her fingers.

"Oh, he probably had to duck out to Russia or someplace to get some holy vodka," Dean said, chuckling at the idea. Faythe raised her eyebrows, unimpressed.

"Uh huh. I'm _sure_that's what he did," Faythe said, laying on the sarcasm heavily. However, Evangeline didn't seem to understand.

"But why would Castiel need another holy substance? The oil is all one needs to trap an angel."

Faythe's hand fell away from her neck, drifting down to her pocket before extracting her car keys. To Faythe, there was something not quite right about the other girl. She spoke of Castiel in a formal, familiar way, like he was above her, which was insane. She's_ only just met the angel. Have a little faith in her_Faythe told herself, smiling. Dean noticed.

"What's so funny?" he asked. He could clearly see what was around her neck. It seemed to be some sort of sword, similar to the blade she was carrying. There were some tiny letters inscribed on the side but Dean couldn't read them.

"Gotta have Faythe," she said. Dean groaned.

"That's even more terrible than Sam's last joke, and that one involved a white woman and a werewolf."

Faythe chuckled as she began to walk up to the stairs of the cabin. Dean motioned for Evangeline to follow him as he went after Faythe. She opened the door of the cabin, and went to step in, but Castiel appeared in front of her.

"Wait," He said, and as if on cue, the lights in the cabin began to flicker.

They looked to the center of the cabin where Donnie was standing, lightning was flowing out of his back in the shape of wings, falling down to the ground. Lightbulbs began to shatter, starting from where Donnie was standing and working the way around closer to the group of four. A lightbulb exploded directly behind where they were standing, and Dean raised his hands over his head to keep from being hit with the shards of glass. Another one exploded, louder this time, and both Faythe and Evangeline jumped, taken by surprise by the volume of it. The lightning disappeared, and all seemed to be calm as Donnie stepped forward.

"Castiel," He greeted, and they knew it wasn't Donnie anymore, but Raphael.

"Raphael," Castiel said.

"And I thought you were supposed to be impressive. All you do is black out the room," Dean said as they stepped forward towards the archangel.

"And the Eastern seaboard," Raphael added and Dean pursed his lips together as lightning flashed outside, the beginning of a storm. "It is a testament to my unending mercy that I do not smite you here and now," He said, glaring at Dean.

"Or maybe you're full of crap. Maybe you're afraid God will bring Cas back to life again and smite you and your candy-ass skirt," He said before smirking and adding, "By the way, hi, I'm Dean."

"I know who you are. And now, thanks to him, I know where you are," Raphael said, a wicked grin on his face as Castiel narrowed his eyes.

"You won't kill him," Castiel said. "You wouldn't dare."

"But I will take him to Michael."

"Well then. Sounds terrifying. It does," Dean said as he crossed the room to grab a beer, trying to play it off like this didn't bother him. "But, uh, hate to tell you, I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Surely you remember Zachariah giving you stomach cancer?" Raphael questioned, and Dean froze, his mind immediately reliving those moments. He swallowed hard before turning his back on Raphael and glancing at Castiel, trying not to show he was scared.

"Yeah, that was, that was hilarious," Dean said at an attempt at sarcasm.

"Well, he doesn't have anything close to my imagination," Raphael told the hunter.

"Yeah?" Dean asked, turning back to face the archangel. "I bet you didn't imagine one thing," He added as his hand reached into his pocket.

"What?" Raphael asked.

"We knew you were coming, you stupid son of a bitch," Dean said as his hand pulled out of his pocket to produce his lighter. He flicked it open, and a flame popped up. He dropped it on the ground and a circle of flames surrounded Raphael, just like it had done with his empty vessel back at the hospital.

"When did you have time to come up with this plan?" Faythe snapped, annoyed that she hadn't been filled in on everything that had been talked about.

"When you weren't around, clearly," Dean replied as he glanced at Raphael who was glaring at him. "Don't look at me, it was his idea," He said motioning to Castiel who turned and gave Dean a 'really?' look, and Dean shrugged.

"Where is he?" Castiel asked.

"God? Didn't you hear? He's dead, Castiel. Dead," Raphael told the angel.

"What would you know?" Faythe snapped, annoyed of having to listen to him.

"Faythe. You know, your name gets around up there. No one is fond of you killing Heaven's servants," Raphael told the girl. "You're a threat to us and our kind. Castiel, I'm surprised you would align yourself with her, but then I guess it's the reason why Evangeline is here as well. You rebelled." He turned to face the blonde. "I was sad to see you go. You were always so loyal, I'm sorry you chose the wrong path. Heaven will miss you."

Faythe felt herself freeze as she realised the implications of Raphael's statement. She turned to the smaller woman, her eyes narrowing.

"Why would Heaven miss you?" She asked, her voice icy cold. Dean glanced at Castiel. It wasn't that he couldn't handle Faythe. It was that someone on such a driven mission as her was incredibly dangerous. Evangeline drew herself up to her full height, ignoring the looks the males were given her.

"Because I am an Angel of the Lord." As soon as she confirmed what Faythe suspected, her hand flew to her blade. It arced through the air, aiming for the throat of Evangeline. She pulled back startled, but not before Faythe was able to be restrained by Dean. She turned to him, eyes blazing with absolute fury.

"I trusted you," she said, yanking away from him and standing in a fighting stance. "I trusted you and YOU LIED TO ME!" She barely realised she was yelling, ignoring her surroundings.

Raphael surveyed the situation, looking mildly pleased with the chaos he'd created. Castiel had moved to get Evangeline out of the way. Faythe's hand that was empty went to the gun and she levelled it with Dean's head. Dean looked shocked for just a moment before narrowing his own eyes.

"Our job is to protect the innocent, Faythe. Evangeline is innocent and I was protecting her by lying to you."

Faythe rolled her eyes, pulling back the hammer. She had no intention of killing Dean. Wounding him, she wouldn't mind so much. However, before she could go any further, Castiel stepped in between them. Faythe's hand wavered. She'd promised Dean never to hurt or attempt to kill the angel, and Faythe never went back on her word.

"Put the gun down, Faythe," Castiel said calmly in his low gravelly voice. Faythe slowly lowered the gun before moving away from Dean and the ring of fire.

"Castiel. If you leave me here, I will find you," Raphael said, his voice commanding the attention of the room, as he sensed they were leaving.

"That may be the case," Castiel said before pausing and turning to lock eyes with Raphael. "But tonight you're my little bitch" he finished, turning and exiting the room. Dean flashed Raphael a cocky smirk.

"What he said," he added, before helping Evangeline as well.

Once they were all outside, Dean turned to Castiel to say something. However Castiel seemed to be doing something else. Dean frowned but the angel was leaning down to the dark haired girl, his lips moving as he spoke to her. And Faythe seemed to be listening. Dean was taken by surprise for a moment by the scene, but chose to ignore it, and just go with it. So, while Castiel calmed Faythe down, Dean turned to Evangeline wanting to make sure she was all right. And from what he could tell, she seemed to be okay. A little shaken up, but calm.

"Did I say something wrong to her?" Evangeline asked as she glanced up at Dean, her big blue eyes full of confusion.

"No... besides being... you...?" Dean paused, not knowing how to explain the situation to her. How did you explain that by being who you were, you had pissed off someone. "We told you she didn't like angels."

"Why?"

"We also told you one killed her brother," Dean said. "We'll just have to be careful from now on," Dean told her. "But don't worry. She doesn't travel with me. So we're good."

"I do not need you looking out for me, Dean Winchester," Evangeline said, her tone almost icy and more harsh than she had spoken before. Dean was taken aback for a moment. He was used to people being ungrateful for his help, but for some reason he hadn't expected her to be like that. He had expected her to simply say 'thank you'.

"You're a fallen angel who's basically human now. You have all your knowledge of heaven with no real way of defending yourself," Dean said deciding to tell her like it was and break through her independent shell she had. She blinked her eyes for a few moments, and Dean watched as her steely gaze softened.

"I did not mean to offend you," Evangeline told the hunter softly.

It was true, she hadn't meant to offend him. It was just hard to accept being human when you had been immortal for so long. Humanity seemed so... dull. It was hard to grasp all the different meanings of everything that humans said and did. Dean had purely meant to help, and she had taken it as him thinking she couldn't handle herself. But she knew he had a point. She had no way to defend herself against demons who would want her knowledge. It was just hard to ask for help when you had taken care of yourself for centuries. Dean seemed to understand what her thoughts were, and he offered her a small smile.

"I've got a lot to teach you, and only a little bit of time," He said as he glanced over at Castiel and saw that Faythe seemed to have calmed down greatly.

* * *

"Faythe," Castiel was saying when he first lead her outside into the rain. "Killing us because of what we are is like us killing you because you're humans."

"And that's exactly what Lucifer tried to do," Faythe said bitterly, staring at the ground. "And that's why we're in this mess." Castiel sighed, managing to commit many emotions to a single noise.

"I do not hold the actions of my brother's to account. And neither should you." Some tiny corner in the back of Faythe's mind knew he was right. But she didn't want to find out what would happen if she took this onboard. She noticed Dean walking out with Evangeline. "And besides," Castiel continued, the faintest smile crossing his lips. "Evangeline was only born an angel. She fell so now she's essentially human."

Faythe rolled her eyes. "Aren't you a fallen angel too?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. She'd never actually spoken to the angel other than to insult him.

"No," Castiel replied gravely. "I am on a mission for our Lord."

Faythe held up a finger at this, stopping him from continuing to speak. "Nope. Not _our_Lord. Your Lord." She studied him, shaking her head in disbelief. "You're just like the religious fanatics who try to press their religion on you," she said, standing. She could no longer see Dean and Evangeline. "Except you have powers. Which is worse." Castiel didn't reply, the rain just trickling down his face. "In the meantime though, if you're just going to leave Raphael burning in the circle of Holy Oil, can't I go in and question him? it was the only reason I had to stand your company."

"Be my guest," Castiel said and Faythe pushed past him, walking back into the abandoned house.

However, the circle of flames surrounding the dark-skinned angel had gone out and Raphael was gone. She turned back to castiel who had followed her in, shocked. The rain had plastered her clothing tightly against her body and Castiel observed her body in a manner he'd often watched Dean doing to women. At this, Faythe frowned and took a step forward.

"Are you... are you checking me out?!" her voice raising incredulously as she asked him. "because if you are, I believe there are much more concerning things than... doing that! For instance, why is your angel buddy here gone?" she asked, turning angrily backed to the extinguished flames.

"Maybe so," Castiel replied gravely. Before he could continue, a yell made them both turn.

"Cas!" Dean was calling. "Cas!"

Castiel walked out of the cabin to see Dean glancing around. "What is it?" He asked the hunter who whirled around in the direction of his voice.

"Where the hell have you been?" Dean asked the angel as he and Faythe walked closer before stopping in front of them.

"I was going to question your little angel friend in there," Faythe replied motioning to the cabin they had just vacated. "Except the rain had put out the fire, and he was gone."

"I'm so sorry for you," Dean replied, sarcasm in his voice. Faythe looked about ready to retort, but Dean held up his hand. "Don't even. I don't wanna hear it. All right? Let's just get out of here. I am exhausted." Faythe nodded as she got into her own car.

"We'll be in touch, Dean. You keep the company of angels, and that's exactly what I need. See ya around," She said before driving off. Dean rolled his eyes as he turned to Castiel and Evangeline.

"Let's get out of here," He said as he got into the Impala. Castiel climbed into the passenger seat and Evangeline got into the back seat. As they drove away, Dean noticed Castiel was being more quiet than he normally was. He glanced over at his friend. "You okay?" When Castiel said nothing, Dean spoke. "Look, I'll be the first to tell you that this little crusade of yours is nuts, but I do know a little something about missing fathers."

"What do you mean?" Castiel asked him.

"I mean, every time I was looking for my dad even when all logic said that he was dead, but I knew in my heart he was still alive," He explained quietly. "Who cares what some ninja turtle says, Cas, what do you believe?"

Castiel paused for a minute to think through his thoughts. "I believe he's out there."

"Good. Go find him," Dean said.

"What about you?" Castiel asked Dean.

"What about me? I don't know. Honestly, I'm good. I can't believe I'm saying that, but I am, I'm really good," Dean replied.

"Even without your brother?" Castiel asked him. Dean paused for a moment, thinking through that question before nodding his head.

"Especially without my brother," He replied. "I mean, I spent so much time worrying about the son of a bitch. I mean, I've had more fun with you in the past twenty-four hours than I've had with Sam in years, and you're not that much fun. It's funny, you know, I've been so chained to my family, but now that I'm alone, hell, I'm happy." He finished talking and then glanced over at the passenger's seat where Castiel had been sitting. It was empty. He sighed as he glanced back out at the road.

Evangeline stayed quiet in the backseat, watching the exchange between the two. She noticed Castiel seemed relaxed around Dean, he trusted the hunter. He wasn't careful and he didn't have a guard up like most angels did when around humans, he was completely vulnerable and open. Dean seemed to be the same way. From what Evangeline had seen of him in the last few hours, he seemed closed off to most, but he wasn't that way with Castiel. The fact that Castiel trusted Dean made Evangeline relax a little more. If Castiel trusted him, then so could she. He pulled off the long straight road he called a motorway and into a diner.

He climbed out of the Impala and walked away from it before realising that Evangeline wa sstill sitting in it. He walked back over to it, groaning. It was exactly as he thought it would be. Damn Cas for offloading her onto him.

"Are you coming or what?" he asked her irritably after opening the door. She looked up at him.

"Well, you didn't tell me to so I didn't."

"You needed an order?"

"Yes," she replied simply. Dean paused for a moment, thinking of her background. All her life, Evangeline would have been constantly receiving orders and never being able to act on her own until she fell, so it would be hard to break the habit.

"Follow me," said Dean, closing the door after she climbed out. They walked across the car park and Dean's cell started ringing. Evangeline jumped a little at the sound before looking at Dean. He curiously put an object to his ear.

"Hello?"

_"Dean, it's Castiel. I have some information on the Colt."_Evangeline could faintly hear what her brother was saying. At Castiel's words, Dean stopped and froze in the middle of the parking lot.

"The Colt?" Dean repeated. "As in _the_Colt?" asked Dean, stressing the 'the.'

_"We are."_

"But that doesn't make any sense! Why would the demons keep a gun around that uh.. kills demons?" At the mention of killing, Evangeline frowned slightly. She'd had to kill before but only when following orders or to protect people. She looked back up at Dean, listening for Castiel's reply.

_"What?"_ he was saying. _"I didn't get that!"_Evangeline could hear some sort of blurry noise in the background and she giggled a little. Dean was also grinning. He replied to her brother and they conversed for another couple of minutes. Evangeline looked around, taking in her surroundings.

_"Where are you now?"_

"Kansas City," Dean told him, lying. They were at least a three hour drive from there.

_"I'll be there immediately," _Castiel told Dean. His eyebrows shot up, something that humans did when they were surprised.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. There's some stuff I've gotta do first."

_"Such as?"_Castiel asked. evangeline heard impatience in his voice.

"Eat for example," said Dean. "In this case, sleep. I just need like four hours every once in a whole, okay?"

_"Yes."_

"Okay so just stop by tomorrow morning." After Dean said that, he flipped his phone shut. Evangeline looked up at him, a little reproachfully.

"Why did you lie to him? We're not in this 'Kansas City' place," she said, making air quotes on the two words. Dean was surprised at the human gesture but she could have picked it up from previous visits to earth.

"Because I want a double bacon cheeseburger and it's a little unsettling with an angel sitting on your shoulder the entire time you eat, let alone two," Dean said, chuckling a little at his own joke before walking the remaining distance to the diner entrance. Evangeline followed him.

"Double bacon cheeseburger?" She questioned, her nose scrunching up in confusion. "That sounds very unhealthy," She added as she sat down in the booth across from Dean.

He scoffed. "You sound like Sam," He said shaking his head. "You hungry? Angels do get hungry, right? Well... I guess that doesn't really apply to you anymore..." He paused. "Are you hungry?" He asked again. She shrugged as she glanced around the diner, her hands in her lap.

"I don't know..." She said as her stomach grumbled causing Dean to laugh.

"You're hungry." Dean handed her a menu, and she opened it but glanced down at the words, not knowing what to eat. He sighed as he took it back from her as the waitress came up to take their order.

"Hi, what can I get you?" She asked, a notepad in her hand and a pen in the other.

"I'll have a beer and a double bacon cheeseburger with fries, and she'll have..." He paused, trying to think of what to order for her. "A cheeseburger, fries and iced tea." The waitress nodded as she wrote it down then walked away.

"You and Sam... why'd you split up?" Evangeline asked, curiosity in her blue eyes.

"We... didn't see eye to eye on some things," He replied and took a swig of his bottle of beer that the waitress brought. She also set a cup of tea in front of Evangeline before walking away. The fallen angel cocked her head to the side, examining the light brown liquid in the cup. It had little cubes of frozen water and a slice of something yellow sitting on the edge of the cup.

"But he's your brother...?"

"It's a drink, it's not gonna kill you," Dean told her, noticing her gaze. "And yeah, he's my brother, but it's just better this way," He said as he watched the blonde across from him slowly take a cautious sip of the tea from the straw. Dean paused, the bottle of beer midair. "You like it?" He asked before taking another swig. Evangeline nodded, her eyes twinkling with excitement. "Wait til you try alcohol."

"Alcohol?" Evangeline said, and Dean nodded. "I think I'll pass."

"You say this now."

"When I say something, I mean it," she told him seriously. Dean's retort froze on the tip of his tongue.

"I don't doubt it," he said quietly and just as gravely. He opened his mouth like he was about to say something but before he could, the waitress arrived with their food.

"One double bacon cheeseburger with fries, one cheeseburger with fries," she recited, placing them down on the table. She held the tray under her arm.

"Can I get you anything else?" she asked, smiling at Dean. He smirked up at her.

"I'll get back to you on that," said Dean with a wink. The waitress turned and walked away and Dean immediately picked up his bruger. Evangeline didn't touch hers for a few moments.

"You're gonna have to eat that soon if we want to get to Kansas City before nightfall," he said, nudging the plate towards her.

She very daintily picked it up and took a small bite. Every thing on earth was new to her. Dean didn't know how the angels went about their day to day lives in heaven, but he'd learnt from Cas that they didn't have to sleep, eat or drink. When Evangeline had visited Earth previously, she had still be an angel and so hadn't experienced any of these things. According to Castiel, she'd only been fallen for about three days before she found them. A person could survive on none of life's necessities for that long, especially if one wasn't used to doing it. She took a small bite of the burger, just eating her way through it steadily, whereas Dean had demolished his in seconds. She sat back in the booth, her shoulders reclining slightly.

_This is good_, Dean thought. _If she relaxes, she'll be more human._She absently picked at her fries, her eyes not connecting with anything Dean could see. It gave Dean the impression she wasn't really here.

After she had successfully picked at her fries for about ten minutes, but hadn't eaten much, Dean gave up trying to get her to eat them and called the waitress over for the check. After pulling a twenty out-enough to cover for the two meals and a tip-Dean grabbed his jacket from out of the booth beside him and stood up. The blonde glanced up at him, her blue eyes staring up at him, and Dean sighed. They were definitely going to have to find her something else to wear because she drew attention to her.

He motioned with his head for her to stand up as he slipped his jacket on. She hesitantly stood then followed Dean outside into the Impala. The second he started his car, his cell phone rang. He sighed before pulling out the device and holding it to his ear.

"Yeah?" He said as he pulled out of the parking lot of the diner.

_"Dean. Just who I was hoping to reach."_

Dean mentally rolled his eyes. "You called my phone, who else did you expect to get, Faythe?" He asked, sarcasm heavy in his voice.

_"I don't know. Your pretty little angel friend could have answered for you." _She paused for moment, trying to choose her next words carefully. _"Speaking of which, I was wondering if I could join you on your next case."_

"I don't have a case yet, Faythe." Dean's voice was a little annoyed. It's not that he hated Faythe, because the girl could actually be useful on jobs and cases. But he knew why she was calling, and it wasn't to be helpful.

_"You could always get one."_

"Cut the crap, Faythe. I'm not letting you work with me on a case. I've got an angel with me, and you're not coming around," Dean snapped.

_"But Dean... that angel is exactly why I want to help you." _The tone Faythe used was sickly sweet, and Dean found himself rolling his eyes.

"Faythe. I'm not letting you around her. You kill angels, she just so happens to be a fallen one. And you're not gonna kill her," Dean said.

_"Don't get your panties in a twist. I just want to question her. See if she knows anything."_

"She doesn't know anything," Dean said.

_"Where are you headed?"_

"Like I'm gonna tell you. Look, you know I wanna help you out with finding your brother's killer, okay? I told you I would. But you can't just kill and torture every angel you see. Not every single one of them is responsible. I get wanting to avenge your family, all right? I did the same thing for my mom and my dad, but you can't go on a blind rage to do it either."

_"You don't know the first thing about me or my family, Dean." _Now her voice was harsh, clipped. Dean had touched a nerve, and she was mad.

"I'll let you know if I find anything," He said before hanging up.

He didn't want to deal with her when she was mad. She couldn't see rationally. He wanted to help her, and he would. But he wasn't going to do it her way. He wasn't going to capture different angels to gain information that they may or may not have. He sighed as he turned his attention onto the road again, wondering what to do about the girl beside him. They needed to get her a change of clothes soon because she was drawing more unwanted attention than needed.

* * *

Faythe angrily threw her phone into the empty passenger seat beside her before turning her narrowed green eyes onto the road in front of her. She rested her elbow on the side of the door, biting on her fingernail, the other hand resting on the steering wheel of her Black Toyota Hilux. Why couldn't he just let her talk to the girl? It's not like she was trying to kill her. Faythe rolled her eyes in annoyance as she glanced down at her discarded cell phone in the empty seat. Maybe she should call him back and try a different approach.

The thought left her head as quickly as it had come. _If_Dean picked up her call, he wouldn't listen to anything she had to say. An annoyed groan left her lips as she was left with virtually no options that would be helpful. She certainly couldn't drive around the entire country looking for him because that would take way too long, and she probably never find him. She could call Sam and ask if he knew where Dean was. Of course, he would be skeptical and ask questions as to why she would need to know the location of his big brother. And there was a possibility Dean had already warned Sam not to tell her.

"Damnit!" She swore as she hit the steeling with her hand. She had no way to find Dean and his angel friend, and that girl might have answers that could help. Then she had another idea. What if she called his other angel buddy, Castiel. She'd seen the number Dean had keyed in at times she'd had to call him. She just had to hope he was still on earth. If he was, he could tell her where the green-eyed hunter was going to next. She pressed the buttons and held the phone to her ear.

_"Dean? I do not recognize the number you are calling me off." _The angel's gravelly voice startled Faythe. She hadn't been expecting an answer and she realised she didn't have anything to say.

"That's because it's not Dean," she said, her voice instantly coming out defensive. There was a pause.

_"How did you attain this number Faythe?" _he asked, not sounding impressed. Then again, he never sounded impressed.

"It doesn't matter," she said impatiently. "What _does _matter is where Dean is. Or the angel bitch, more specifically. I know you can't track him." After a moment's consideration, Faythe realised she probably shouldn't have called Evangeline a bitch.

_"Evangeline is not a female dog,"_ came Castiel's reply. _"And why should I help you? For all I know, you're going to kill her, or use her to kill another of my brother's."_

"Or maybe a sister this time. Doesn't do to just focus on one species," Faythe replied. She knew that to get information off Castiel, she had to be polite and logical, but for some reason, she couldn't seem to manage to. She was gonna end up with the same result as Dean had. She took a deep breath. "Look Angel Boy- Castiel" she began, correcting herself. "I think Dean's in danger" she lied. "I need to get to him. Just tell me where he is?" There was another silence on the end of the phone and Faythe almost thought the angel had hung up on her.

_"He is travelling to Kansas City. That is all the help I will give you." _Faythe glanced at the clock on the dashboard of her car. Kansas City was a good four hours from here. She needed to drive fast if she was going to catch Dean before he moved on.

"Thanks Castiel," she said, barely realising she used his name again. She pressed the end button and dropped the phone into the passenger seat, quickly turning the wheel of her ute and hitting the road.


	3. A Twist in the Story

Dean pulled off the motorway and drove down to a small motel that had been advertised a mile back. He stopped the Impala in front of it, pulling the handbrake on and turning back to Evangeline.

"Out we get," he said, a smirk playing on his face. They both stepped out of the car, and Evangeline followed the male, who seemed to know what to do.

"Can I have a room please?" Dean asked the old man behind the counter. He moved with shaking hands to grab a key and handed it over to Dean. It had _Room 221B_written on it. Dean nodded his head in thanks and they went back out of the front room and walked up the stairs to find the rooms. Dean opened the door and gestured Evangeline in.

"Home, sweet home," he said, dumping his bags on the floor beside one of the beds before he plopped onto it. He closed his eyes and laid there for a few minutes before he felt someone staring at him. He opened his eyes to see Evangeline standing where he had left her, in front of the closed door.

"Am I doing something wrong?" Evangeline asked when Dean gave her a weird look. He closed his eyes and groaned for a moment before looking at her.

"Go to sleep. Angels do sleep, right? You do feel tired?"

Evangeline shook her head. "Angels don't feel tired... what is sleep?"

"It's something you do when you're tired," He said a little annoyed. He watched her yawn, and pointed at her. "That. What you just did is called a yawn. It means you're tired." He motioned to the other bed on the other side of him. "Lay down." She did as he said. He closed his eyes and was about to drift off to sleep, until-

"How does one sleep?"

Dean groaned. "You... you close your eyes... and breathe deeply... and... sleep," Dean said, not having any _idea_ at all on how to describe sleeping. Or how to tell one how to sleep. He just did it, he didn't know how to _explain _it. "Just try." After a few moments of silence, Dean thought he might he might be able to sleep. But Evangeline was curious now.

"What does sleep do?" Evangeline asked.

"It gives you energy... humans needs rest. We can only go so long without it," Dean said, sighing as he sat up. Trying to sleep at the moment wasn't working. She was human, but she just wasn't tired. Dean would have to deal with all of her questions until she _was_tired, which should be soon because she was human now, after all. Evangeline sat up as well and moved to sit on the bed Dean was occupying so that she could talk to him, her blue eyes sparkling with questions and curiosity.

"How long have you known my brother?" Dean frowned, not understanding for a second. The word 'brother' only made him think of Faythe recently.

"Oh Cas?" he asked, and Evangeline nodded. Dean thought back. "I guess when he 'gripped me tight and raised me from perdition,'" he said, making quote marks as he repeated what Castiel had said. "But I didn't actually _know _him then."

"And do you like him?" Evangeline asked, continuing to make it slightly awkward.

"As much as one can like a fallen angel like Cas."

"You mean not all of us fallen angels are the same?"

"Well look at it this way," Dean said, looking into her eyes. "Cas is technically fallen but he has his powers. You're fallen and you don't. Castiel is... somewhat serious and you're..." he trailed off, studying her and she just kept staring on at him. "Curious," he said, eventually settling on a word he didn't actually want to use.

"And is this curiosity a good thing?" she asked, the slightest smile creeping onto her face. It made her look very cute and innocent, but knowing, all at once. Dean got the feeling she knew more than she let on, and was actually enjoying winding him up. But he also believed that she knew very little, which is why he had to teach her to blend in.

"Curiosity can be," Dean replied as he grabbed the TV remote off of the bedside table. He pressed a button, and Evangeline watched as the black box set against the wall on a dresser turned on, colored images playing on it.

"Is that a... television?" Evangeline asked. She had often heard the word being used on the few occasions when she visited earth, when she was looking over people. She had been a Guardian angel before she fell.

A Guardian angel was an angel who watched over people, tried to keep harm from coming their way. Each Guardian was given a Charge. A Charge was what the person they were to look after was called. This person was usually someone who could be of use to angels later or someone they believed to be of importance to heaven, such as Dean Winchester or his father John-people who had a destiny that involved Heaven. They tried to give them advice-like an angel on your shoulder-to keep the person away from harm. If harm did come, depending upon how important that person was to heaven, the Guardian would intervene or sit back and watch.

While on Guardian duty, Evangeline had seen many humans watching this box that images came out of, sometimes black but usually with colors. Dean had chosen something that involved loud noises and violence, both of which the fallen angel was not comfortable with. The men in the movie had the same objects, guns, that Dean had. Every time one of them were fired, Evangeline jumped. Dean sighed before changing the channel. If she continued to jump everytime this movie played, she would never get to sleep.

He changed it to something on the Animal Planet. It was on some documentary on Meerkats, and Dean found it very hard for him to keep himself awake. As the show progressed on, Dean's blinking became slower, and Evangeline's posture relaxed visibly. She started off sitting straight up then she slouched down and now she was leaning against the pillows on the wall. Halfway through the second show-this one a documentary on lions-Dean felt something leaning against him. He glanced down to see Evangeline laying on his shoulder, her eyes closed and her breathing a steady rhythm. She had fallen asleep against him.

He groaned. What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't move her for fear she would wake up, and it had taken such a long time to get her to sleep. He kept staring at the lions on the TV, hoping they'd distract him from the blonde. They didn't. His eyes felt heavy and he blinked, rubbing them. The TV seemed to blur and his eyes closed. He fell asleep with Evangeline on his shoulder.

A distant noise drew him from sleep. He sat up, but felt something pressing into his shoulder. He opened his eyes blurrily to see a girl lying beside him. With a curse, he remembered that he was babysitting Evangline. He realised that the noise was his phone and quickly reached out to grab it.

"Cas, what do you want, it's 4 am," he snapped under his breath.

Somewhere in the distance realms of sleep, Evangeline stirred as she felt movement beside her. She blinked her eyes sleepily, becoming more alert as she heard a voice speak. Like Dean had done previously, she also realised she'd been asleep beside him. She didn't open her eyes completely, listening to the conversation Dean was having. He was talking to Sam. Evangeline knew who Sam was. Everyone did. He was Dean Winchester's little brother. Apparently he was also Lucifer's vessel.

Evangeline almost sat up, shocked as she heard this revelation. She kept listening as she heard Sam ask to meet up with Dean, to be together. When Dean said no and hung up the phone, it took everything Evangeline had not to say anything. Humans made their own actions and she had to remember she couldn't control them anymore, whether it be for good or bad. She imperceptibly pulled away from Dean, closing her eyes and listening to his breathing as he fell back asleep. Eventually Evangeline's eyes fell closed without her having any control over them.

* * *

The room was lighter than she remembered when Evangeline opened her eyes. Dean lay on the other side of the bed, his breath barely audible. She pushed herself up and glanced sideways, to the alarm clock. When she was an angel, she instinctively knew the time. But she wasn't an angel anymore. She wouldn't have ever admitted it to Castiel or Dean, but Evangeline wasn't having the easiest time adapting. She frowned when she finally spotted the alarm clock. The front of it was smashed in, its red lights no longer displaying the time.

She didn't know much about human behaviour but this didn't seem normal. With this realisation, everything else she hadn't noticed came to the front of her mind. Her hands weren't resting against the soft bed she'd fallen asleep on. They were digging into the springs that lay beneath a mattress. She gasped softly as she realised the entire room was destroyed. She carefully moved off the bed, not wanting to wake Dean yet. She pushed the flimsy bits of fabric aside, turning her gaze out the window. Instantly she wished she hadn't.

She gasped and stepped back, letting the curtains cover the open window, hiding the outside from her view once again. The world outside was not what it had been previously or what she had been expecting. What she had seen was hadn't seen life in a long time. Cars had been flipped over, buildings had windows smashed out, signs hung off their racks or laid on the ground. Trash littered the street, and roofs were caving in. Everything was dark, dismal and dying, and it terrified Evangeline.

She immediately turned around and knelt on the floor next to Dean who was still asleep on the bed. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking him. "Dean," She whispered, her voice urgent and panicked. "Dean!"

"Huh, what?" He asked, his eyes snapping open. He calmed down when he glanced at the blonde in front of him. "What is it?"

"Something is wrong," She told him, her eyes wide.

"What is?" He asked, sitting up at her words. She motioned to the window.

"I-I don't know..." She said, shaking her head.

Dean stood up and made his way over to the window and pulled the curtain aside and glancing out, seeing the same scene she had. He stared down at the ground, not believing it, before moving back inside. He turned around to see Evangeline hadn't moved from her spot on the ground beside the bed. He grabbed his jean jacket off of the dresser where he had thrown it last night and slipped it on over his clothes before turning to the blonde angel, and offering her his hand. She took it, and he pulled her to her feet.

"Come on."

"Where are we going?" She asked as she followed after him out the door.

"To check it out."

They made their way down the stairs which were now old, broken and rotting, not the shiny, polished surface they had been the night previous. Evangeline stepped down on a board behind Dean, and her foot went through the rotting wood. She squealed in surprise, and Dean turned around and steadied her before she had the chance to lose her balance and fall forward. After helping her get her foot out, he held her hand as they walked down the rest of the way, not wanting her to fall or get stuck again.

They cautiously made their way out into the lobby, not knowing what to expect. The site that greeted them was about what they should have figured. Bags were strewn everywhere, some open with clothes and others having been picked clean by scavengers. Picture frames hung haphazardly on the wall, others lying on the ground with the glass cracked. The double doors to the motel looked like they had been kicked in because one was hanging off of the hinges, and the other was lying on the ground, the glass shattered.

Dean carefully stepped around the glass, instructing Evangeline to do so as well before he stepped out onto the sidewalk outside. Seeing everything up close was a lot worse than it seemed from up in their room.

"Dean..." She began, turning her face up to him. It was obvious she was shocked or at least scared by this turn of events. "What's happened?" Dean pressed his lips together grimly.

"I don't know Evangeline," He said. "But I'm sure we'll find out soon enough."

They continued to make their way through the deserted, ruined streets. There was no life and no noise. It was eerie. The sound of smashing glass caught their attention and Dean instinctively reached to put Evangeline behind him. He put a finger over his lips, indicating she should be quiet and gestured down an alleyway. They walked down to see a girl standing at the end, gripping a teddy bear.

"Is she okay?" Evangeline whispered to Dean. Dean ignore her and approached her slowly.

"Little girl?" He asked and her head flicked up. "Little girl? Are you hurt?" His voice was calm and soft, his movements fluid as not to make any sudden movement and startle her. She didn't reply.

"You know the not talking thing is kind of creepy, right?" He glanced behind him to check Evangeline was still there. She looked so small and pure amongst the ruined world behind her. Before he turned back, he saw her gasp and call out to him. He turned to see the girl rushing at him, blood dripping from her mouth, a sharp shard of glass clenched firmly in her hand. Without thinking, Dean knocked her to the ground. She didn't move and he rushed back to Evangeline.

"C'mon," He said, taking her hand. "Let's move." They moved urgently through the streets, away from where they'd just been. As they rounded another corner, a large piece of graffiti caught Dean's eye. It read Croatoan.

"Shit!" He swore.

"What's Croatoan?" Evangeline asked, staring at it.

"It's a demonic virus that infects people," Dean told her, his eyes scanning the area, looking for other people similar to the little girl. "It's deadly and dangerous. And we shouldn't be here." He glanced around, making sure it was still safe which at the moment it was.

"It sounds familiar now that you mention it," Evangeline mused quietly. She glanced up at Dean only to see his eyes widen, obviously not liking something that had appeared somewhere behind her.

"We gotta go," Dean said. "Now!" He grabbed her hand and took off down the alleyway and on to the main street, thankful for the clothes Evangeline wore now.

Before they had made it to Kansas, they had stopped by a town Jo was working in. Dean figured the two girls were about the same size, despite Jo being taller, and had asked if Evangeline could use some of Jo's clothes. The blonde hunter had been skeptical at first, but of course had agreed since Dean had asked. She had given Evangeline enough clothes for three days, which was really all Dean and Sam ever kept with them. At the moment, Evangeline wore a pair of Jo's jeans that hugged her legs, and a white camisole.

What she wore now definitely was easier to run in than the dress she had been wearing previously, and Dean was ever-so grateful to Jo at the minute, mentally making a note to send her a thank-you card when they got back to wherever they had been.

The two of them rounded a corner, and Dean let go of Evangeline's hand as a chain-link fence blocked their path. He stared at it for a moment as the swarm of Croatoan-infected people rounded the corner shortly after. He turned around to face them, and at the same time pulled Evangeline behind him, his first instinct to protect. Dean heard a noise behind him and turned to see a tank roll up before "Do You Love Me?" by the Contours started playing. Almost a second later, the soldiers in the tanks started firing their machine guns at the infected people in front of them. Dean immediately dropped to the ground, pulling Evangeline with him as he crawled along the ground to take cover behind a car.

"We can't let them see us," Dean told Evangeline over the loud noise.

"Why not? They look like they're trying to help," Evangeline said back.

"They might think we're infected," Dean said. "And then we'll die, too." Evangeline's eyes widened at the word 'die' before she nodded her head in understanding to staying hidden.

Dean glanced around, trying to find someplace safe they could go to where they could move away from this scene. His gaze landed on another alleyway a few feet from them. To get to it would put them directly in the open and make them a target to shoot upon. But they had to chance it. He nudged Evangeline and motioned to the alley. Hey eyes went larger again because she also realized it was in the open as well. He shook his head. He didn't have time to argue with her about why they couldn't stay here.

He motioned for her to stay put before he took off to the alley, bullet following him as well. He made it safely without getting hurt, and leaned his back against the brick wall behind him as he turned to face Evangeline. He caught his breath before motioning for her to come to him. She glanced backwards in the general direction of the tank before taking a deep breath and rushing over to Dean, also making it safely. She leaned beside him against the wall, catching her breath. Dean let her be for a few moments before motioning they needed to leave.

She followed him as he walked further into the alley, getting as far away from the chaos back there as he could. She glanced up at him, everything about her screamed she wanted answers, but Dean couldn't give them to her because he wanted them as well.

"Where are we going?" She finally settled on out of the many questions she had on her mind.

"We're going to a used car lot I know of. We'll get a car and head to my friend's Bobby's. See if he can help," Dean said. Evangeline nodded her head. That planned seemed just as logical as any other plan at this moment, so she went along with it.

Darkness swept over the sky as night fell in by the time they had reached the place Dean was referring to. He walked up to the entrance of the place, which of course had its chain-link fence surrounding the area as a protection mechanism. Dean glanced up. It had barbed wire along the top, making it all the more difficult to climb over. He scanned the area, looking for a way in before he walked along the perimeter of the fence. He found a small opening in it and figured there was a way to make it larger.

He picked up a stick and began to dig at the dirt, clearing it away from the small opening in the fence to make the fence easier to pull back. Once he thought he had moved away enough dirt, he pulled the chain-link fence back before crawling through the small opening. Once on the other side, he helped Evangeline through before helping her to her feet. He stopped to read a sign on the fence that read:

**CROATOAN  
****VIRUS  
****HOT ZONE  
****NO ENTRY  
****BY ORDER OF ACTING REGIONAL COMMAND  
****AUGUST 1, 2014  
****KANSAS CITY**

"August first, 2014," Dean read off shaking his head. He was in the future five years. He groaned. Nothing in his life _was _ever normal. "Come on," He said motioning for Evangeline to follow him, which she did almost immediately. She didn't question him anymore.

He glanced at the cars in the lot, not knowing which ones had fuel in them or which ones even worked for that matter. He sighed. Better start trying his luck with them. Thankfully, the first car he hotwired had a full tank of gas, and Dean grinned. The first bit of good luck he had had this entire time. At least _something_went right. He climbed into the driver's seat and Evangeline got into the passenger side and they drove off after Dean had unlocked the fence.

He turned on the radio, but all he heard was static. He quickly flipped it off before pulling his cell phone out of his pocket to try to make a call. Of course, there was no service. He groaned and slipped it back into his pocket.

"That's never a good sign," He muttered.

"Croatoan pandemic reaches Australia," A voice sounded from behind them causing Evangeline to shriek in surprise and Dean to hit the steering wheel, not happy about being caught off guard.

He glanced through the rearview mirror just as the person who spoke leaned forward between the two seats. Both of them recognizing him immediately but for different knew him as Zachariah because he was one of the higher-ranked angels in heaven.

Dean knew him because the guy had tortured him and been on his case to get him to allow Michael to enter his body and control it. Dean wasn't' about to let that happen. Dean noticed Evangeline never looked at the other angel, always averting her eyes now. Like a sign of respect. Dean paused. Or fear. Zachariah was probably a feared angel in heaven if you were under his authority. Old habits die hard, Dean assumed was the case with Evangeline and Zachariah. With her being mortal now, she was still afraid of Zachariah for more reasons than one now.

"I thought I smelled your stink on this _Back to the Future_crap," Dean snapped in annoyance as he looked at the balding angel still leaning forward between the front seats.

"'President Palin defends bombing of Houston'," He announced in a news reader's voice. "Certainly a buyer's market with real estate. Let's see what's happening in sports." He flicked a few pages of the newspaper he was holding before pausing. "Oh, that's right- no more sports. Congress revoked the right to group assembly. What's left of Congress, that is. Hardly a quorum if you ask me," Zachariah said chuckling.

"How did you find me?" Dean asked, glaring at him from the front seat, trying to make sure he didn't touch himself, Evangeline and focus on the road. In answer, Zachariah glanced back at the small, blonde angel. Dean looked between him and Evangeline. "You traced her?! That's hardly fair!" Dean said, somewhat angrily but barely knowing why. "She's only just fallen. She's defenceless. You cannot use her to get to me."

"Unfortunately for you, Dean, you didn't write the rules," Zachariah told him, smiling nastily. "Like you said, she's just fallen. Human but with no fancy protection covering her ribs like you Winchesters have. Gonna be a shame to have that liability isn't it."

Dean gritted his teeth. He knew Zachariah was trying to goad him into getting rid of Evangeline, to leave her helpless. However, he'd promised Castiel that he wouldn't do that, and he couldn't live with himself if he did anyway.

"Fine. You used me," Evangeline said, suddenly speaking. her voice was small but clear, like she was trying to say something she felt strongly about but was too nervous to. "Now send us back, _please._"

"Oh, you'll get back-all in good time." The grin widened to a smirk. "We want you to... marinate for a bit."

"Marinate?" Dean asked darkly, instantly suspicious.

"Three days, Dean," Zachariah responded, holding up three fingers. As he spoke, he slowly folded each one down. "Three days to see where you two end up."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that both of your choices have consequences. This is what happens to the world if you continue to say "no" to Michael," he said, pointing at Dean. "And if you do not return to your rightful place as an angel of the Lord," He said looking to Evangeline. "Have a little look-see." The next minute, Zachariah was gone. Dean hit the steering wheel with a closed fist in frustration as he drove on.

"You said we were going to your friend's house? Bobby?" Evangeline asked. Dean nodded. "How sure are you he's still around?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, glancing at her.

"It's... five years in the future," Evangeline said as if that were the obvious answer.

Dean sighed as he caught on to what she was saying. He wasn't sure Bobby was still living in the same house he had been in or if he was even still alive. But Dean had to try. He didn't know who else to ask for help. His phone wasn't working so he couldn't call Sam. Bobby was his next option, and his house was the first place to look. He didn't know what to expect, but he would find out soon enough. From the mile markers on the highway, he was about forty minutes away from Bobby's place.

Shortly after, Evangeline fell asleep in the front seat as Dean drove on to Bobby's house. He glanced over at her and smiled slightly, but not knowing why. He sighed as he glanced back out towards the road. It wasn't fair for Zachariah to use her to get to him. For some reason, Dean had a feeling Zachariah was trying to get him to leave the fallen angel. And he couldn't do that. Not only because he promised Cas, but because she was defenseless. But she was a liability to have around if the angels could track him through her. He sighed. Making decisions was always hard. He'd have to talk to Cas and see what he could do.

A little while later, Dean pulled up into the junk yard that had a sign hanging over head, the words "Singer Salvage Yard" in faded paint. The sign was only hanging on by one chain, almost falling down into the ground below. Dean parked the car, and turned off the engine before shaking Evangeline. Her eyes fluttered open, and she glanced around, trying to figure out where they were since this place was not familiar to her.

"We're at Bobby's," Dean told her as he opened his door. "Come on." He motioned for her to get out of the car as well, and she did so. He waited for her to catch up to him before he walked up the steps to Bobby's house and banged on the door. "Bobby? I'm coming in!" He called before he pushed the door.

Opening it seemed to be harder than he thought. He paused before pushing against it harder. Once he got it open and he was inside, he realized something had been barricading the door. It was a large dressed that had been placed in front of the door. That was never a good sign, Dean figured. He stepped further into the room and noticed tables and chairs were overturned, and papers were strewn all over the floor. Glass windows had been shattered and mirrors had been broken, pictures frames were bent and out of shape.

"I don't think anyone's here," Evangeline whispered quietly as she stayed close to Dean.

"Bobby!" Dean called as he moved into the front room. He paused. Bobby's wheelchair was lying on the ground on its side. A few bullet holes were in the back of it with dried blood on the actual seat. "Oh, no."

"Dean..." Evangeline handed Dean an old photo in brown coloring.

He took it from her and studied it. In the photo was Castiel, Bobby, Faythe and three men he didn't recognize. He held the picture closer to his face, and noticed there was a wooden sign in the upper right hand corner of the photo. It read "Camp Chitaqua." He paused, trying to see if he remembered that name or not, and his mind came up blank. He proceeded to move around Bobby's house, looking for any maps or something that might tell him where this camp was located. As he did, memories slowly began trickling through. The camp had a different name but the outside was still the name. Dean attended it once or twice when he was a kid. He made a decision.

"Evangeline?" He called out, his voice echoing around the empty house. She'd been right behind him but she was looking for clues as well. He frowned. "Evangeline?" he called again, putting the photo into his jacket and walking through the house.

He got no reply whenever he called her name and he was growing more and more worried. What if Zachariah had returned and taken her? What if Dean had missed something? "Evangeline?" he yelled, running outside. He collided with a someone and instantly pulled out his gun, pointing it at them. On the ground, Evangeline lay sprawled, her eyes wide and fearful.

"Dean?" she asked, her voice quavering. Dean immediately holstered his gun, his face breaking into one of relief. He leant down and held out his hand, helping her out.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know where you were... and I'm pretty paranoid," he admitted. "With good reason." She nodded, rubbing some dirt off her arm.

"It's okay. I just needed some air." Dean studied her for a moment before replying.

"Evangeline-" he began but she cut him off.

"You should call me Eva. Castiel does." Dean nodded after a moment, pushing the thought that maybe she saw him like a brother to the back of his mind. He didn't like that.

"Eva. If we're going to get through these next three days we have to stay together." She nodded, slowly. "We have to trust each other."

"I trust you." The words surprised Dean but he nodded back, just as slowly. "And it's not because I'm an angel," she added. "It's because I just know when to trust people."

"Okay," Dean said and their eyes met for a moment. They just stared in silence before Evangeline looked away, blushing. "Listen, I know where to go." Dean quickly described how they'd get there before they made their way out to the car. Dean quickly found his way back out onto the main motorway and they began making their way to Lawrence, Kansas.

This time, Evangeline didn't fall asleep in the car. She asked Dean about the sights they passed, the music they listened to. She noticed that he was more relaxed in her company than he had been when she'd first met him. She learnt that he liked a type of music called rock. It grew on Evangeline. It was loud and heavy and the people basically screamed the words. At one point, Dean started imitating the song, and she couldn't stop herself from giggling. Dean smiled at her laugh before continuing to drive. When they hit the sign for Kansas, Dean told her that he used to live there.

"Me, my brother, my mum and dad, we grew up here," He said. "I haven't been back here since we exorcised a poltergeist."

"Did you like living here?" Evangeline asked. She glanced out the window. Out here on the motorway, houses were rare. It had big rolling hills and large trees that stood tall. The sky was an incredible blue. It made Evangeline think of Heaven. She didn't miss it. She quite liked living on earth.

"I did," Dean said, drawing Evangeline back from her thoughts. After a while, he fiddled with the radio, trying to reach a station. It was still staticky.

"Guess you're gonna have to put up with my music for another hour," Dean said, teasing Evangeline gently. She smiled.

"It's okay. I've never heard anything like it before." There was silence in the car apart from the low thrum of the music. "Dean?"

"Yes Evange- Eva?" Dean asked, correcting himself at the last moment.

"Why did you become a hunter?"

Dean paused at the question, not sure how to answer. He wasn't even sure he had a real answer. Being a hunter just seemed like the natural path for him to choose since it was all he knew. It seemed like the only way for him to go. It wasn't like he could've gone to college like Sam or get a real job. He didn't have any real talents. He was good at what he did. He was good at lying and persuading and scamming... you couldn't make a real job out of any of those traits, so he never tried.

"I grew up that way," Dean replied without thinking much about it. "My dad started me in the life, and I just went with it."

"You didn't think to do anything else?" Evangeline asked him, curious.

"To be honest... There wasn't anything else for me to do," Dean said shrugging as the sun began to set in the sky, and stars began to scatter around the night sky. He pulled into a small dirt road that was partially hidden by trees and parked the car they were in. "We should walk there. It's less obvious," He said.

Evangeline nodded her head as she got out of the car and followed Dean up the dirt road. She stuck close by his side, shivering slightly. It was rather hot in Kansas with the sun blazing, but when it had set, the temperature had dropped considerably and neither of them were wearing appropriate clothing for that. Dean glanced over at the blonde before taking off his leather jacket and slipping it around her shoulders. He was wearing more clothing than she was. She smiled at him gratefully as they approached the wooden sign from the photo.

He started to walk up closer, but he noticed movement and pulled Evangeline behind him as he hid in some bushes. There were men inside the fence that wrapped around the camp, protecting those inside. As they passed by the two without noticing they were there, Dean caught a glimpse of something else inside the fence. His Impala.

"Oh, baby no..." Dean shook his head as he waited for the men to move fully out of sight before he carefully made his way inside the fence and over to his car. Evangeline was right behind him.

"Is that...?"

"The Impala?" Dean asked quietly then nodded. "Yeah..." He crouched down and peered inside the driver's side door before sighing. "What did they do to you?" He asked. The interior was destroyed, completely trashed. The outside was rusting and had so many dents in it, Dean couldn't even begin to count them.

They both heard a noise behind them. Dean straightened up and turned around just in time for someone to hit him on the head, knocking him out. Evangeline turned to see Dean. Not the Dean that was lying on the ground though. He looked exactly the same but harder, rougher, harsher. It must be his future self.

"If you move, I won't hesitate to give you the same treatment," he said, his voice cold. She nodded slowly, not knowing what else to do. The other Dean whistled and a military type vehicle drove through. Men jumped off and picked Dean's body up, lifting him into the car.

"You're to come with me," Dean Two said, walking over to the car himself. Evangeline hesitated before following. She had nowhere else to go, and they had Dean now. She climbed into the front seat and sat there, trying to make herself as small as possible again.

"What are you doing here, Evangeline?" The use of her name surprised her. For one, she'd been so used to her Dean using her nickname, Eva, that is sounded unnatural to hear the full thing off his lips. The other thing that shocked her was how he was looking at her. It was as though he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Why are you alive?"

The words came out of his mouth but they made no sense to Evangeline. Then she remembered it was the future. All the colour drained out of her face and she stared at Dean.

"I'm... dead here?" she asked, her voice small as though she was afraid of the answer.

"I watched you die just under five years ago," he told her. She gasped. Five years was the time she'd just come from.

"How did I die?" Dean didn't answer this time.

"How can I be sure you're not a shapeshifter, or possessed? I can't."

"Why didn't you knock me out then?" she asked. He ignored her question again as the truck came to a stop in front of a wooden cabin. The men on the back lifted Dean down and carried him into the house. She watched as the jogged out before running off deeper into the camp.

"Get out," Dean said shortly and Evangeline climbed out of the truck. As she did so, someone else walked out of the house. Evangeline squinted before realising it was Faythe, the hunter who'd tried to kill her when they'd trapped Raphael.

"What the hell is going on, Dean?" she called from the porch, yet to notice Evangeline standing beside him.

"We had some... complications," Dean said as he walked closer to her. Faythe surveyed the surrounding area before her gaze landed on Evangeline and her eyes narrowed harshly.

"What the hell?" She snapped, her tone furious. She pulled out a gun and aimed it at the girl but Dean stepped in front of her, arms outstretched towards Faythe.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Dean exclaimed, stopping the dark-haired hunter.

"What do you mean 'whoa?'" Faythe questioned harshly, her gun still raised. "What is she even doing here? She can't be her! It's gotta be a Shapeshifter or something!"

"Okay, well, how about we test her out and make sure before we go around pullin' any triggers?" Dean questioned, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Faythe narrowed her eyes but lowered her gun anyways.

"Who'd they carry in?" She asked, holstering her gun.

"Come on," Dean said to Faythe and Evangeline as he motioned them both inside the cabin.

Evangeline was hesitant at first but eventually followed him inside. She noticed this older Dean seemed to keep himself in between her and Faythe. Once inside, she noticed the Dean she had come into this future time with was handcuffed to a ladder that led up into the top part of a bunk bed. Faythe stopped, staring at the clone of the man standing beside her.

"Is that...?" Her voice trailed off before looking to the Dean standing beside her. "What the _hell_is going on around here?" She asked.

"We're gonna find out," Dean told her. He motioned for Evangeline to sit down in a chair at a nearby table, and she did as he requested.

"Find out what?" Evangeline asked, but instantly wished she hadn't. The moment she had spoken, Faythe's green eyes were narrowed at her angrily.

"How is _she_even here?" She asked. The way Faythe said her name, reminded Dean of a disease, like she was disgusted by Evangeline. And Dean suddenly felt angry.

"If you're not gonna be helpful, then you can leave," Dean snapped at Faythe who narrowed her green eyes at him now.

"What do you want me to do?" She asked him, and he passed her a small canteen.

Evangeline could hear something sloshing around in it, and assumed it was some kind of liquid, possibly water. And when Faythe unscrewed the top off of it, Evangeline knew immediately it was Holy Water used for demons. She watched as Faythe splashed a little of the clear liquid onto the Dean of her time, and waited for a reaction. When none came, she knew Dean wasn't a demon and screwed the top back on before handing it to Dean. He took it and poured a little onto Evangeline's hand. When she didn't writhe in pain, he knew she wasn't a demon either and set the canteen aside.

"Salt's next," Dean said to Faythe who walked over to a duffel bag and rummaged through before pulling out a small jar filled with little white particles.

She opened the jar, reached her hand inside before walking over to Dean. She opened his mouth with her free hand and dropped the little handful onto his tongue. She stepped back, and when no reaction was given, she passed the jar over to Dean. He held it out to Evangeline, and the little angel stuck her hand inside before swallowing a small handful. She coughed as her throat began to feel dry from the salt, and Dean handed her a water bottle. She took a few sips before handing the water bottle back. The way both of them had been staring at her as she had drank made her realize the water was Holy.

"What's next?" Faythe asked, her arms crossed over her chest as she glared at Evangeline even though her question had been directed at Dean.

"Silver. Make sure they aren't Shapeshifters," Dean replied as he reached into his back pocket and produced a knife before handing it to Faythe.

Evangeline was pretty sure Faythe had her own knives, but there had to be a specific reason she was using Dean's knife instead of her own. The blade on Dean's knife seemed shinier than others she had seen, and she realized it had to be pure silver. Faythe's own knife probably wasn't and that's why she was to use Dean's and not her own. She watched Faythe crouch down beside the unconscious body of Dean before sliding the blade across his forearm, drawing a little bit of blood, but still nothing happened.

Faythe stayed where she was for a little bit, her eyebrows knitted together in confused. She didn't get it. Neither of them should be here. Dean was already here, so having something else show up as himself had to be wrong. And Evangeline... she was dead. She couldn't be here either. It just didn't add up to her. And since the sleeping Dean in front of her wasn't a Shapeshifter or a demon, that left hardly any options. She sighed before standing up and walking over to Evangeline, but Dean stood up as well, stopping her from getting too close.

"I'll do it," He said. Faythe narrowed her eyes at him.

"I can just as easily do the same thing," She replied evenly, but Dean didn't move from where he stood. He only held his hand out for his knife back, and after a few moments of a stare down, Faythe placed it in his hand, not too happy.

Dean sat in a chair across from Evangeline. "Hold your arm out," He told Evangeline, and she glanced at Faythe first, confused, before holding her arm out for Dean. "This is gonna hurt a little," He warned her, and she simply nodded.

He placed the cold blade against her flesh and added a little bit of pressure before sliding it across. She gasped then winced as a cut was made, little red droplets appearing in contrast against her white skin. Dean sighed when no reaction was made other than the normal one inflicted with pain. She wasn't a Shapeshifter either. He closed his switchblade before placing it into his jacket pocket as he grabbed a white cloth nearby and held it onto the cut on Evangeline's arm for a minute before ripping off a piece and tying it around her arm.

Faythe watched Dean, her eyes still narrowed. He was soft with the angel and showed her care, like he was his old self again. And she didn't like it. The Dean on the bed stirred a little bit and she glanced over at him. It was Dean, that's for sure. He had less scars, he looked less hard. He looked like Dean did five years ago, but that was impossible.

"Welcome back," Faythe said as he sat up. Dean blinked a few times groggily before his eyes darted around in panic. When they landed on Evangeline, he visibly relaxed. Faythe didn't like that much either.

"What did Eva tell you?" Dean asked. His future self's eyes flashed slightly at the use of the nickname.

"She hasn't explained anything, so I suggest you say something before I kill her, here and now," Faythe said, her tone angry. Dean stared at her, surprised.

"What did she do?" At this question, Faythe's hands tightened into fists and Future Dean shot her a warning glance. She stood and moved out of the room, her movements all very controlled, like she was barely holding herself together. Evangeline watched her go, her eyes meeting Dean's for a moment.

"So, you want to explain why you have every hidden lockpick, box cutter and switchblade that I carry on you?" Future Dean asked. "Oh, and the resemblance too, maybe?" His voice was calm but very sarcastic, as if he didn't know what they were playing at.

"It was Zachariah!" Evangeline blurted out before Dean could speak. She covered her mouth, as if she couldn't believe she'd said it. Future Dean frowned and stood up.

"Eva and I, we're from the tail end of 2009. Zach plucked us from our bed and threw us five years into the future." He paused, looking around. "Where's her future self?" he asked, jerking his finger at Evangeline. Her eyes widened slightly, remembering what Future Dean had said earlier. The Future Dean also pressed his lips together.

"Where is Zach? I want to talk to him." Future Dean ignored his younger self's request and for a moment, Evangeline was glad. She wasn't sure she wanted to find out either.

"We don't know."

"Oh, you don't know."

"No, we don't know," Dean repeated a slight edge entering his voice. "Look, I just want to get us back to our own friggin' year, okay?" Future Dean studied him for a moment,

"If you're me, then tell me something only I would know," he challenged. Evangeline watched Dean think for a moment before his lips curved into a smirk. She hadn't known Dean for all that long but she could sense what was coming.

"Rhonda Hurley. We were, what? Nineteen? She made us try on her panties. They were pink. And satiny. And you know what?" Dean paused to wink. "We kinda liked it." Evangeline watched as his gaze travelled to her, watching as she felt a blush rise to her cheeks and Dean chuckled. His future self ran a hand through his hair.

"Touche. So what, Zach zapped you up here to see how bad it gets?"

"I guess... Croatoan virus, right? That's their endgame?" Dean asked. Future Dean nodded.

"It's efficient, it's incurable, and it's scary as hell. Turns people into monsters." His gaze flicked to the direction Faythe had disappeared in and Evangeline had frowned. The huntress certainly didn't have the disease so what was he possibly thinking? "It started hitting the major cities about two years ago. World really went in the crapper after that."

"What about Sam? And Cas? And Eva?"

"Cas is still here." The short sentence made it obvious he didn't want to talk about either of them.

"Dean just leave it..." Evangeline spoke up, meeting Dean's eyes. She didn't want to know how she died, but her words had the opposite effect on Dean. He narrowed his eyes.

"If it was something good, you would tell me. So hurry up and spit it out," Dean said, his voice sounding somewhat tired. Evangeline knew that Bobby, the man whose house they'd visited, was a good friend of his. This would probably be the last straw.

"She's dead." The voice wasn't Dean's. It came from the doorway, where Faythe was leaning. The most peculiar thing though, was how she said it. It wasn't sadness or bitterness. There was a sort of elation in her voice. As though this was a good thing.

"She's _what_?!" Dean asked shocked and Evangeline looked away. She knew now that she was a mortal she could die, something she'd never imagined.

Faythe looked directly at Dean before she spoke again. "She's dead because I killed her."


	4. Truth Comes to the Light

"Excuse me... you wanna repeat that?" Dean asked, his eyes wide at the female hunter in the doorway. "Did you say-"

"I killed her?" Faythe asked, moving into the room, a smirk on her face. "I did."

"But... why?" Dean asked, his face hard as he glared at the hunter. He glanced at his future self to see his reaction, but his face was expressionless. Nothing in his posture or eyes gave away how he felt about this situation.

Faythe scoffed. "She's an angel. You ought to know that killing angels _is_ what I do," She stated as if it were the most obvious answer to the question Dean had presented.

"But I've never hurt you..." Evangeline said, her voice quiet.

"You've never hurt me?" Faythe stepped towards her, her green eyes flashing. "You know exactly what you've done," She snapped, and future Dean stood up at that moment and placed his hands on Faythe's shoulders pushing her away from the blonde angel.

"All right, that's enough," He said harshly.

"What happened to Sam?" Dean asked, hoping to stop a fight from breaking out because he was handcuffed and unable to do anything. He watched as his future self froze, his hands dropping to his side. Faythe also paused in her movements.

When Dean spoke, his eyes never left Faythe's. "Heavyweight showdown in Detroit. From what I understand, Sam didn't make it." He turned to face his younger self.

"You weren't with him?" Dean asked, his eyes showing the shock he felt. Dean gave a smile, but it showed no emotion.

"No. No... Sam and I haven't talked in... hell, five years," He told his younger self.

"We never tried to find him?" Dean just couldn't believe that in all this time he never _once_ tried to regroup with Sam.

"We had other people to worry about," Came the reply from his future self. He grabbed a handgun off of the table and made sure it was loaded before walking over towards the door.

"Whoa, where are you going?" Dean asked.

"I got an errand to run," He replied then glanced at Faythe who gave him an annoyed glance. "_We _have an errand to run," He corrected himself.

"You're just gonna leave us here?" Dean questioned, shaking his wrist in the handcuff to make a point. "Come on!"

"Yes. I got a camp full of twitchy trauma survivors out there with an apocalypse hanging over their head. The last thing they need to see is a version of _The Parent Trap_. So, yeah, you stay locked down," Dean said as he grabbed the gun and slipped it into the back of his jeans before going to the door.

"Okay. All right. Fine. But you don't have to cuff me, man. Oh, come on. You don't trust yourself?" He questioned, and his future self smirked.

"Absolutely not," He replied. He opened the door and started to leave, but noticed Faythe was still standing in her spot glaring at Evangeline. "Faythe!" He called. She turned her head to look at him.

"What? You're just going to leave her able to move around?" She questioned. Dean glanced at Evangeline then shrugged.

"She's not gonna wander around the camp. She'll stick close by him," Future Dean said with a nod to his past self, and Faythe's eyes narrowed further at that comment. Apparently that wasn't something she was wanting to hear. "Are you coming or not?" He snapped impatiently.

"Only because I have no choice," Faythe snapped before storming out of the cabin. Dean followed her, leaving Evangeline and his past self in the room together.

"Pass me that nail, Eva," Dean asked her, his tone oddly flat. She glanced down and saw a bent nail poking out of the floor board. She grabbed it and pulled it, poking her tongue out in concentration before handing it to Dean silently. He took it without thanking her, beginning to unlock the handcuff.

"Evangeline," he said after a while, not looking up from what he was doing. "What did Faythe mean by 'you know exactly what you've done'?"

Evangeline stared at him. She had no idea. While she'd been an angel, she'd been assigned people to guard because she was a guardian angel. The only thing that had gone wrong was a skirmish where lives were lost. Evangeline tried not to think about it, but she still couldn't see how it could have affected Faythe.

"I don't know," she eventually replied. Dean nodded as the handcuff sprung open. He twisted his wrist to loosen it.

"Well I'm sure as hell gonna find out," he said before walking across the cabin. Evangeline followed him after a moment.

"Where are we going?" she asked as they stepped out into the sunshine.

"To see if I still have any friends in the future," he said grimly. Evangeline gave him a smile.

"Didn't seem like you had that many in our time," she said teasingly.

Dean half smiled at her. "Too bad you're right."

* * *

"What the hell is your problem?" Faythe couldn't stop her voice rising as she yelled at him. Dean didn't even look at her as they made their way through the camp.

"Dean!" she yelled as he kept walking before grabbing his arm. "Fucking answer me." Ever since his past self and Evangeline had showed up he'd changed from the driven soldier he'd been. He seemed less authoritative now.

"What do you want me to say, Faythe?" his tone was more resigned than angry. "That telling Eva and Dean was a good idea?"

"No, but I'd like you to treat me as your equal," she said, her voice softening slightly. Dean finally looked up at her before sighing.

"The whole world's about to fall apart, Faythe. Our only aim is to kill the devil."

"And it seemed for a moment you'd forgotten that," Faythe retorted, her hands on her hips.

"It seems you forgot that as well," He retorted back, referring to how she had simply seemed intent on killing Evangeline. _Again._

"Yeah, well. You're wrong," Faythe replied, her eyes narrowed.

Dean smirked slightly at her before leaning down and pressing his lips onto hers. Faythe responded instantly, her lips moving with his as one of her hands slid to the back of his neck, twirling her fingers around his hair. One of his hands rested on the small of her back, holding her body against his, while the other wound into her auburn hair. After a moment, the two broke apart. Faythe's hard gaze had softened slightly as she stared up at Dean, the person she had been with for the last four years.

"What was that for?" Faythe asked. Dean simply shrugged as he stepped back.

"We gotta leave. We're burning daylight," He said as he motioned to the jeeps they were driving on this next mission. Faythe nodded as she followed after him and hopped into the passenger side of a jeep before Dean drove off.

* * *

Dean tried to keep a low profile as he walked around the camp, but it was hard when every person seemed to know who he was. Everyone wanted to speak with him about some problem or another, or simply to say hello. This was as close to a celebrity as Dean would ever get, and he had to admit, he didn't like it. He liked being able to move around without being known, and the fact that his future self was in charge was making moving around discreetly very, _very_ difficult. He groaned as he heard his name being called out again.

"Hey, Dean! You got a second?"

Dean took a deep breath and turned around to see Chuck jogging up to him. "No—yes. Uh, I—I guess. Hi, Chuck." Dean rambled on, and Evangeline almost found herself giggling. Chuck glanced at her, his eyes narrowing curiously, like he recognized her.

"Who-"

"What did you need?" Dean asked, cutting across him. Chuck shook his head, clearing whatever question he was about to ask as he looked up at Dean.

"So, uh, listen, we're pretty good on canned goods for now, but we're down to next to nothing on perishables and—and hygiene supplies. People are not gonna be happy about this. So, what do you think we should do?" Chuck asked.

"I—I don't know. Maybe, uh, share? You know, like at a kibbutz," Dean suggested.

Chuck looked at Dean curiously before pausing. "Wait a minute-aren't you supposed to be out on a mission right now?"

Dean's eyebrows rose up in surprise. Because he was in fact supposed to be out of the camp, but yet here he was. "Absolutely. And I will be," He said with a nod of his head, hoping Chuck bought whatever he said. It seemed to work, because Chuck didn't seem to question it. But in the next moment, he frowned.

"Uh oh," he said and Dean turned to see what he was looking at. As he did so, a woman threw a punch at Dean. Evangeline squealed, covering her mouth with her hands, before giggling.

"Whoa! Jeez! Easy, lady!" Dean said, ducking as she swung again and moving behind Chuck. The prophet nodded in greeting to the woman.

"Risa."

"Risa?" Dean asked, repeating the name. The girl with dark hair pulled back into a slick ponytail narrowed her eyes.

"You spent the night in Faythe's cabin last night, didn't you?" she asked, seething. Dean stared at her, confused.

"Uh, what? I- I don't- Faythe and I..." He trailed off helplessly, turning to Chuck. "Did I?" He nodded in answer.

"I thought we had a 'connection', Dean," Risa said, making sarcastic air quotes on the word. Dean almost groaned. This was exactly the sort of stunt he'd pull, so he couldn't exactly claim innocence.

"Well, I'm sure we do," he replied diplomatically, figuring that agreeing with her was the best option. Evangeline giggled and Risa quickly flicked her narrow gaze over the girl. Dean noticed her hostile gaze and unconsciously moved towards Evangeline. Risa noticed.

"Screw you," she said, turning away and storming off. Before anyone could say anything else, Evangeline turned to Chuck.

"Chuck, right?" she asked him and he nodded. "Is Cas still here?" Her question was laced with worry. She really hoped one of her favourite siblings, one of the only ones who had looked out for her, was still here, or alive.

"Yeah," he replied, giving her a curious look. "I don't think Cas is going anywhere." His statement made Evangeline curious.

"Is he still in the same cabin?" she asked.

"Yeah, that one over there," Chuck said, pointing at one a little way off. Evangeline smiled her thanks, before taking Dean's arm and began walking in the direction Chuck had pointed out.

"What was that?" Dean asked as they walked.

"What was what?" Evangeline replied innocently.

"You, giggling at my misery and then being all... forward and asking Chuck."

"You think because I'm an angel, I have to be shy?" she asked teasingly.

"No, sheltered was more the word I'd use," Dean muttered as they stepped up onto the porch. The door was slightly ajar and he could hear voices inside. He pushed it open to see Castiel sitting in a circle, surrounded by women.

"So, in this way," he was telling the women, who were all gazing at him adoringly. "We're each a fragment of total perception- just, uh, one compartment in that dragonfly eye of group mind." He paused, meeting each of their gazes. "Now, the key to this total, shared perception- it's um, it's surprisingly physical." Dean could have sworn some of the women sighed but before Castiel could continue, he spotted Dean and Evangeline. His expression completely vanished when he saw the blonde angel and he hurriedly talked back to his group.

"Oh, excuse me ladies. I think I need to confer with our fearless leader for a minute. Why not go get washed up for the orgy?" The women all stood, walking off murmuring as Castiel approached Dean and Evangeline.

"What does he mean, Dean?" Evangeline whispered. Dean shrugged, feigning innocence while trying not to smile at her. Then he spotted Castiel's expression. He looked like he'd just seen someone come back from the dead. Then Dean realised, he has.

"Eva... What... How are you here?" he asked. She cocked her head, confused, having also forgotten her future. "I watched you die five years ago." A small 'o' of realization formed with her mouth.

"What are you? A Hippie?" Dean asked, changing the subject because quite frankly he wasn't really wanting to talk about Evangeline's death. It bothered him, and he wasn't sure why. Castiel chuckled as he cracked his back then his neck.

"I thought you'd gotten over trying to label me," He replied.

"Cas, we gotta talk," Dean stated, his voice urgent and Castiel frowned for a moment as he studied Dean further.

"Whoa, strange... you're not you. Not, now you anyways," Castiel said, his gaze scrutinizing every movement Dean made. Dean's eyes widened like he had finally made a connection with someone and they were understanding the predicament.

"No! Yeah, yes! Exactly!" Dean said, breathing a small sigh of relief. "That's what I've been trying to explain!"

"What year are you from?" Castiel asked as he glanced at Evangeline, having a very good idea of what year they were from if she was with Dean.

"2009," Dean replied.

"Who did this to you?" The angel asked. "Was it Zachariah?" He added to the question, figuring it had to be him. Dean nodded.

"Yes."

"Interesting," Castiel mused as he took a step back from the two, studying them further. It took a lot to send someone through a time jump, and Zachariah had managed to do it with two people. He knew Zachariah had a lot of power, but even that seemed like a big feat for the angel. Castiel's best guess was he had help from Michael in order to accomplish this.

"Oh, yeah. It's friggin' fascinating. Now. Why don't you strap on your angel wings and fly me back to my page on the calendar," Dean stated. Castiel laughed and Dean frowned, not liking the sound of that.

"I wish I could just uh, 'strap on my angel wings' but I'm sorry. No dice," Castiel replied, and Evangeline's mouth fell open. Castiel couldn't help them, and there was something strange about him. The way he continued laughing, like it was the funniest thing he had ever heard, or the way his eyes were a little glossy...

"Are you stoned?" Dean asked as he studied Castiel as well, noticing something was off.

"Generally, yeah," Came the angel's reply as he laughed again. Dean shook his head. This was not good.

"What happened to you?" Evangeline asked, her voice soft. Castiel looked at her, his expression sobering up.

"Life."

Evangeline went to reply to him, but her words were cut off by the sound of a jeep pulling up towards the cabin they were in. She closed her mouth and glanced at Dean, his expression grim. His future self was back, and they were supposed to be in a different cabin, not wandering around the camp causing problems. He motioned for her to follow him as he crossed the cabin and stood in the open doorway, watching as Dean and Faythe hopped out of the first jeep. Soldiers in the jeeps behind theirs followed suit and climbed out as well.

Dean watched as his future self grabbed three beers. He tossed one to Faythe and she opened it before taking a sip. The second one was tossed to another soldier that had been in the same jeep as Faythe and Dean. As the man took a sip of his beer, preoccupied by it, Faythe drew her gun and aimed it at the back of the man's head before pulling the trigger. The man dropped to the ground, his beer can rolling away from him with the liquid pouring out into the dirt and mixing with his blood.

Evangeline flinched at the loud gunshot, a short shriek leaving her lips. She had never seen someone killed before like that in person, _in cold-blood_. She held a hand up over her mouth, shocked. She felt tears in her blue eyes at the scene she had just witnessed, at a man dying by the hands of Faythe. The blonde angel froze. Just like she had died by the hands of Faythe. She felt herself shaking slightly, and she vaguely feel an arm go around her. Some part of her brain recognized it as Dean's arm in an attempt to comfort her just as Future Dean glared at the two of them.

Evangeline vaguely remembered that Dean had shouted for the man's attention prior to Faythe shooting him, trying to warn him before it was too late. That's what had Future Dean so pissed. He glanced around at all the many onlookers before taking a deep breath.

"I'm not gonna lie to you. Me and him—It's a pretty messed-up situation we got going on. But believe me, when you need to know something, you will know it. Until then, we all have work to do." He watched as everyone scattered away to do their jobs. He glanced at Faythe before nodding his head towards the two in the doorway of Castiel's cabin before leading the way over to them.

"Let's go," Faythe snapped at the two as she reached for Evangeline's arm to pull her away to the first cabin the two had been in, but Dean stepped in front of Evangeline.

He didn't know Faythe all the well in his own time, but she hardly seemed like a cold-blooded killer.

She killed when given a valid reason. He might have trusted Evangeline with that Faythe, but certainly not this one. _Certainly not after knowing she caused Evangeline's death._

"We'll go with you, but don't touch her," Dean said, his eyes narrowed at the huntress. Faythe narrowed her own emerald eyes at him before taking a step back and holding her hands up in defeat. Now wasn't the time to start a fight.

They moved into the cabin and all seated around the table. Dean still couldn't stop himself from glaring icily at Faythe for what she did. He'd lost all respect for her that he'd ever held. His future self stood up at the head of the table, putting his hands flat on it and leaning forward to speak to the group.

"We got the Colt." He didn't need to say anything more. The reactions around the room was varied. Risa seemed the most surprised. Cas seemed resigned. Evangeline sat beside him, her hands folded in her lap as was her normal habit. Dean had spoken to his future self earlier who had told him how they'd acquired the Colt. "They've been moving around for five years. We've lost many good people, but we finally got it," he continued. "And tonight I'm going to kill the Devil." No one objected to Future Dean claiming the task. He was the one that Lucifer had affected the most.

"It's all very well having the Colt," Risa began, her tone icy. "But have we got anything that can _find_ Lucifer?" Her tone clearly conveyed hostility and Future Dean raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Are you okay?" asked Future Dean.

"Apparently being in Faythe's cabin last night wasn't a good idea because we and Risa have a... connection." Dean knew that this was probably going to piss his future self off but hopefully Faythe wouldn't be too happy to find that her boyfriend had been cabin hopping. She narrowed her eyes almost imperceptibly but that was the only reaction.

"You want to shut up?" Future Dean snapped harshly and Dean raised his hands innocently. He caught Evangeline giving him a small grin out of the corner of her eye.

"We don't have to find Lucifer," said Future Dean. "We know where he is. That Demon we caught last week, he was one of the big guy's entourage. He knew."

"So a demon tells you where Satan's gonna be and you just believe it?" Risa questioned disbelievingly.

"Oh trust me," Faythe said, her voice slow and drawn out. "He wasn't lying."

"And you know this how?" asked Risa, her tone challegning. Castiel finally spoke.

"Our fearless leaders, I'm afraid, are all too schooled in the art of getting to the truth." There was a brief and heavy silence in the room as everyone considered the implications of the ex-Angel's words.

"Torture?" Dean asked, his voice matching Risa's earlier questioning tone. "Oh so, we're tortuing again and getting psycho bitch over here to do the same?" His future self glared at him but didn't say anything.

"No, that's good. Classy." Dean's voice was disgusted. He hated the thought that some of the certain skills he'd acquired in Hell were still being used. Evangeline glanced at Dean when he spoke. The tone he used surprised her. She knew Dean had morals, seemingly more morals than either future Dean or Faythe but she wouldn't have expected him to be this reluctant if it meant saving people. Then she realised she'd refused to do the exactly the same sort of thing before she'd fallen and she tried to brush her thoughts away. She was surprised when Castiel laughed and Future Dean gave him a silencing look.

"What? I like the past you."

"Lucifer is there," said Faythe, cutting through all the chatter. It was a skill she'd possessed five years ago. "I know the block and I know the building. We both do," she said, without glancing at Dean.

"Oh good," Castiel said sarcastically. "It's right in the middle of a hot zone."

"Crawling with Croats, yeah," Future Dean said, using the term for people who had been affected with the Croatoan virus causally. "You saying my plan is reckless?" Castiel met Future Dean's eyes seriously.

"Are you saying we, uh, walk straight up the driveway, past all the demons and the Croats, and we shoot the Devil?" he asked. Future Dean nodded in response and Castiel shrugged. "If you don't like, uh 'reckless', I could use 'insouciant', maybe," he offered and Evangeline rolled her eyes. Castiel had changed in this new time, but only because of the situtation. He'd always been odd, even in Heaven, and from what she gathered from Dean and Faythe in her time, he wasn't like other angels since he'd fallen.

Future Dean glared at Cas. "Are you coming?" He asked, his voice hard. Castiel sighed before nodding his head.

"Of course," He said, his tone exasperated. "But why is he?" He nodded his head to Dean who gave a confused look. "I mean, he's you five years ago. If something happens to him, you're gone, right?"

"He's coming," Future Dean stated in a tone that implied there was no room for discussion.

"Okay," Castiel replied in an exasperated tone. "I'll get the grunts moving." With that said, he stood up and headed to the door.

"We're loaded and moving by midnight," Future Dean called out to him before he exited the cabin, Risa behind him.

"Why _are _you taking me?" Dean asked, glancing at his future self warily.

"Relax, you'll be fine," Faythe said smirking. Dean got the feeling he'd be anything but. "Zach's looking after you, right?" Through the smirk, he could detect a hint of sarcasm in her voice and Dean glared at her.

This Faythe got his blood boiling for some reason; every little thing she did made him angry at her, and he didn't know what it was or why. But it made him mad. The Faythe in his time annoyed him at times or infuriated him, but this was different. He was genuinely angry at her.

"That's not what I meant," He snapped at her. "I want to know what's going on."

"You're coming because I want you to see something," Future Dean replied quickly when Faythe's eyes narrowed at Dean. He could tell she was about to snap a retort. "I want you to see our brother."

"I thought you said he had died," Evangeline replied quietly glancing up at the hunter from the future. His face softened for a moment when she spoke before glancing at his past self and the mask he always wore was set back in place upon his face.

"Sam didn't die in Detroit," He stated. "He said 'yes.'"

"Yes?'" Dean asked, repeating the word he had just been told. He didn't understand what he was being told. His future self simply stared at him, waiting for it all to sink in. Dean's eyes widened as everything began to piece together. The phone call from Sam just before he time hopped five years. Detroit. It all was making sense. "You mean..."

"That's right. The big 'yes'. To the devil. Lucifer's wearing him to the prom," His future self stated, his voice harsher than it should have been.

"Why would he do that?" Dean's voice was soft, softer than Evangeline had ever heard it been.

He knew he and Sam had always had their differences, but for his only family to say 'yes' to Lucifer, to help the angels do what they wanted with the apocalypse was something Dean could never understand. He glanced at his future self, searching for any means that this bothered him, that it hurt him. But there was nothing, no crack in his armor that he wore, no hidden emotion in his eyes that he tried to hide. Nothing. Dean was blank, empty... broken. He was just a shell of the man he used to be, and Dean could understand why now.

"Wish I knew. But now we don't have a choice. It's in him, and it's not getting out. And we've got to kill him, Dean. And you need to see it—the whole damn thing, how bad it gets—so you can do it different," Future Dean replied to his past self's question.

Dean's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"Zach said he was gonna bring you back, right? To oh-nine?" Faythe asked, her tone implying Dean was being incredibly slow with putting pieces together.

Dean nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, when you get back home—you say 'yes'. You hear me? Say 'yes' to Michael," Future Dean replied, and his past self shook his head.

"No way. I can't. That's crazy. If I let him in, then Michael fights the devil. The battle's gonna torch half the planet."

"Look around you!" Faythe snapped as she leaned closer to past Dean. "Half the planet's better than no planet which is what we have now!" Dean placed a hand on her shoulder and straightened up, calming down slightly.

"If I could do it over again, I'd say 'yes' in a heartbeat," Future Dean replied.

"So why don't you?" Evangeline asked, speaking up for the first time in a few minutes after watching the exchange between the three.

She didn't think saying 'yes' to Michael was the best option, but as she glanced around her, she realized there weren't many other options left. If this was what the future looked like when Dean said 'no', maybe if he agreed it'd be better. She paused. Or it'd be worse. How was one to know the right course of action to take? It all seemed so hard and confusing, and the world hung in the balance, literally resting on Dean's shoulder when he got back to 2009. She did not envy him and this decision he had to make.

"I've tried!" Future Dean explained before taking a deep breath, not having meant to snap at her. Faythe's eyes narrowed at that. "I've shouted 'yes' till I was blue in the face!" He turned and addressed the last part to Dean. "The angels aren't listening! They just—left—gave up! It's too late for me, but for you—"

"Oh, no. There's got to be another way." Dean would not agree to saying 'yes'. He just couldn't.

Evangeline had stopped listening after Future Dean said the angels had left. Even though she had been kicked out of heaven for being loyal to her brother, she still loved her siblings. And to hear that they had abandoned Dean and everyone in their time of most need broke her heart. She was still sympathetic to people's feelings and emotions, and she didn't think that was fair. She couldn't believe they would have done that. She knew some angels could be a little selfish at times, but to completely leave a population on their own with no help? That was just downright cruel.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Evangeline was brought back to the conversation as Future Dean spoke, a smirk on his face. "I was cocky. Never actually thought I'd lose. But I was wrong. Dean. I was wrong. I'm begging you. Say yes." He paused. "But you won't. Cause I didn't. And that's just not us, is it?"

He didn't give Dean a chance to respond before he stood up, his face hard once again. He knew it was pointless to tell his past self what to say or do. He knew Dean wasn't going to say 'yes' no matter how many times he tried to persuade him. Back in the past, Dean had always thought there was a way out of everything; if he didn't like the options given him, he'd make his own path, carve his own destiny. But looking back, he knew there wasn't another way. It was say 'yes' and trust that it turned out better than what it was now or say 'no' and watched the world be destroyed.

"Dean-" Faythe started to speak to the Dean of her time, but he held up a hand, his gaze focused entirely upon his younger self.

"Think about what you're doing before you do it," He said before heading to the door. "I'll come back and get you and Eva before we leave." With that, he walked out of the door. Dean watched as Faythe's eyes narrowed in hostility at the blonde angel when Dean used her nickname before she too walked out of the cabin.

Dean sighed as he sat back in his chair, running a hand through his hair. He had a lot on his plate, and he didn't want any of it. He didn't want to be the one to make a decision that affected an entire planet. He wasn't the right guy for that, he wasn't _good_ enough for that. He glanced up when he felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Evangeline standing behind him.

"You'll make the right decision," She told him, her voice soft like she was trying to give advice again, just like she had when she was a Guardian Angel.

"I can't say yes... I just can't. Call me selfish, but I don't want the weight of the entire world on my shoulders." Dean seemed very weary as he spoke quietly to the small angel. "I just want to get back to my time, with my Cas and my Faythe..." He trailed off, wondering what could have happened in the five years that would have made Faythe like that. "And I want to get back to Sam." There was a long silence as both of them just sat there, contemplating all the possible actions.

Eventually, Future Dean returned and ordered them to follow him. Dean complied, feeling sick to the pit of his stomach. What was he about to see? They walked over to where a line of jeeps was parked and waited as some of the people living at Camp Chautauqua organised everything.

"So you're really from oh-nine?" Dean straightened at the voice before he saw Chuck. He nodded ruefully.

"Yeah, afraid so."

"Some free advice?" Chuck continued. "You ever get back there, you hoard toilet paper. You understand me?" he asked, turning to face Evangeline as well. She giggled. "Hoard it as if it's made of gold. Because it is." Evangeline found herself unable to stop giggling, even though they were in a serious situation. It was a funny thing to her, considering she didn't need anything mundane when she was an angel.

"Thank you Chuck," Dean said, a touch darkly.

"Oh, you will thank me," Chuck said sagely, sending Evangeline off into another fit of giggles. Future Dean appeared, after walking around the jeeps and raised his eyebrows at Evangeline. One thing Dean had noticed was that ever since they'd gone into the future, Evangeline had been more assertive, more outspoken. It was nothing compared to Faythe but Dean noticed the change in her. It suited her.

"I'll see you round Chuck," Dean said as he went to climb into one of the jeeps.

"Yeah. Okay." Evangeline climbed in beside him. Dean drove the jeep just out of the camp's boundary before he was told to stop and switch cars. He did as he was told, as did Evangeline. Like his future self had said; it wasn't his time here. He found himself in the back seat of Castiel's car, while Evangeline sat in the front seat beside Castiel. As Castiel drove, he pulled out some pills and tipped them into his palm, before swallowing them. Dean raised his eyebrows and leaned forward.

"Let me see those," he said and Castiel handed them back to him.

"You want some?" offered Castiel.

"Amphetamines?" Dean questioned as he read the label on the bottle.

"It's the perfect antidote to that absinthe," Castiel quipped.

"Mmm, I'm sure," Dean muttered, turning the bottle over in his hands. Evangeline glanced back in the rearview mirror and watched as he began to talk. "Don't get me wrong, Cas. I, uh, I'm happy that the stick is out of your ass, but... What's going on here? With the drugs and the orgies and the love-guru crap?" To his surprise, Castiel laughed.

"What's funny?" Evangeline asked, glancing over at her sibling. Or, what used to be her sibling. She wasn't sure anymore. He was in the vessel's body that her sibling had used. But... he wasn't acting at all like the Castiel she knew.

"I'm not an angel anymore," Castiel replied, confirming Evangeline's worst fear.

"What?" Dean couldn't contain the confusion and shock that entered his voice. And Castiel heard it, causing a small grin of amusement to slip onto his face.

"Yeah. I went mortal," He replied.

"How?" Evangeline asked, her voice soft and quiet.

"I think it had something to do with the other angels leaving," He said with a shrug. "But when they bailed, my mojo just kind of," Cas made a sound of something leaving, before continue to talk, "drained away. And now, you know, I'm practically human. I mean, Dean, I'm all but useless. Last year, broke my foot, laid up for two months." He glanced at the hunter behind him.

"Wow." Was the only response he could give. "So you're human," He replied after a moment. "Welcome to the club."

"Thanks. Except I used to belong to a much better club," Castiel replied before glancing at Evangeline. "Is this how you feel? Hopeless and unable to do much? Helpless and powerless?" He asked her.

Evangeline was quiet for a moment. She didn't really know how to answer. She liked being human, but it was hard. When she was an angel things came easily to her. She didn't have to think or feel, it just was. She had one thing to do: follow orders. That was it. As a human there were so many things that happened at once. It was hard to get a grasp on it. But it was new and exciting, but also scary. She bit her lip as she felt Dean staring at her, waiting for an answer.

"It's... different," She finally settled on.

"Well, now I'm powerless. I'm hapless, I'm hopeless. And I don't like it, particularly. So, why the hell not bury myself in women and decadence, right? It's the end, baby. That's what decadence is for. Why not bang a few gongs before the lights go out? But then that's, that's just how I roll." A smirk graced his lips as he faced forward, his attention on the vehicles in front of him.

Evangeline glanced back at Dean at the silence that grew in the vehicle. For some reason, she had a bad feeling about this mission they were all going on. Call her crazy, but she didn't really trust future Dean all that much. And she certainly trusted Faythe in this time even less. Dean seemed to sense her thoughts, because he offered her a reassuring smile. Evangeline realized smiling wasn't really a Dean-like thing to do and the gesture calmed her worries a little. She turned back around to face the front and let out a deep breath. She was ready to see how things were in this time.


	5. Back on His Word

The car pulled up to the hot zone and they all quickly exited the vehicle. The mood was grim and tense, everyone's attention directed towards Future Dean. Faythe stood beside him quietly, her hand resting on her gun. She never took her eyes off the angel beside Dean. She couldn't believe she was still alive. Faythe tried to think back to the time that Dean and Evangeline had come from, but the last five years blurred into one big memory.

"There." Future Dean's voice pulled her from her thoughts as he pointed to a building. "Second floor window. We go in there," he told the group.

"You sure about this?" Risa asked, readjusting her gun, her eyes flickering suspiciously.

"They'll never see us coming," said Future Dean firmly. "Trust me. Now, commence a weapons check. We're on the move in five." Faythe watched as Dean frowned.

"Hey, uh, me?" He asked and Future Dean raised his eyebrows. "Can I talk to you for a sec?" Future Dean nodded and stepped off to the side with his past self.

"You're lying to everyone," Dean told his future self.

"Look around you man," Future Dean instantly responded. "This place should be white-hot with Croats." Dean glanced around, noticing that what he said was true. "Where are they?" The answer formed in Dean's head instantly.

"They cleared a path for us. Which means that this is-"

"A trap. Exactly." Future Dean's tone was grim.

"Well then, we can't go through the front," Dean said in a tone that suggested it was obvious.

"Oh, we're not. They are. They're the decoys." Dean stared at his future self, struggling to comprehend his words. "You and me, we're going in through the back."

"You mean... you're gonna feed your friends into a meat grinder? Cas too?" Dean's voice was shocked. "You want to use their deaths as a diversion?" His future self looked away.

"Oh man," Dean said slowly. Something is broken in you. You're making decisions that I would never make. I wouldn't sacrifice my friends." He studied Future Dean for a moment. "Faythe's going to be a diversion too, isn't she? Everyone's going to die but you..." There was a long pause between the two. "Is there anyone you wouldn't sacrifice?" Dean's voice was bitter, as if he was disappointed at how he'd turned out.

"At one point, there was," Dean said in a very low voice. "Someone that I'd never be able to give up, no matter how big the cost."

Dean cocked his head, trying to think of who it might be. He watched as Future Dean's eyes trailed across the group before landing on Evangeline's slight figure. The small blonde figure who was dead in this time. The angel who he _couldn't_sacrifice, and even if she was here, he wouldn't. He'd sworn to protect her for Cas, and in doing so, he'd found something more.

"Eva..." Dean said her name quietly and Future Dean nodded.

"Come with me for a second," Future Dean told his past self and Dean followed.

Faythe watched as they walked far enough away for her to be unable to hear them. Faythe herself moved around the group slightly, before arriving in front of Evangeline.

"I killed you once," she said in a low voice. The angel met her gaze resolutely and Faythe frowned slightly. She had never found Evangeline to be that strong when she had been alive. She had always been confused about Earth, and still willing to follow the rules of Heaven. "And you will die again today, and nothing can save you."

"Why did you kill me?" Evangeline asked, her tone calm and collected. Faythe stared, unable to believe that she had responded with that.

"You know why, even if you won't admit it to anyone. You killed my brother." Faythe continued to stare as she saw pain enter the angel's eyes as she shook his head.

"Faythe, I did everything in my power to protect him. It wasn't my fault. I miss him just as much as you do." Faythe's hand clenched around her gun and she narrowed her eyes.

"You don't have any right to say that," she hissed, her voice low.

She glanced behind her to see Future Dean jerk his head round the corner, as he stepped away from the group's view. His past self followed him and she watched as Future Dean slugged his past self, who dropped to the ground. Evangeline gasped quietly as Faythe grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her round to the same place where Future Dean had been talking to Dean. She then suddenly raised her arm and drove her elbow into the blonde girl's temple, causing her to crumple to the ground beside Dean. Future Dean frowned and crouched down, his hand going to Evangeline's neck to take her pulse.

"Watch it, Faythe," he murmured lightly before returning to the rest of the group. Faythe glowered and followed him, her lips pressed together tightly.

"Are you all ready to move in?" Future Dean announced to the members of the group. "All the weapons fully functional?" Everyone replied yes, as Future Dean nodded.

"Let's go and kill the devil."

The small group of soldiers began to jog into the compound. Like Future Dean had mentioned to Dean earlier, there were no Croats in sight. There was a path cleared for the ones that held the greatest responsibility. Faythe knew she should feel guilty about sending the people she had worked and lived with for the last five years to death, but she couldn't. She didn't know when it had changed, but she didn't feel guilt anymore.

Evangeline was the first to wake up. She tried sitting up quickly before she felt dizzy and spots began to blur her eyes. She glanced around panickedly, looking for Dean. She saw him, knocked out, a couple of metres away from her. She took a deep breath, before sitting up more slowly. The spots receded and she quickly moved over to him.

"Dean!" she said to him, shaking him slightly. She had no idea how to wake him up. When she had her powers, she had the ability to wake people up and send them to sleep simply by touching them. When she was on earth, she had nothing.

"Dean!" she said again, and Dean stirred slightly. Evangeline watched him with widened eyes as he blinked and slowly woke up. Before he said anything, the sound of gunfire filled the air and Evangeline's eyes widened. Dean stood up, instantly alert.

"Let's go," he said before taking her hand.

They ran towards the building that the team had entered twenty minutes earlier. The weather had changed quickly, morphing into thunder and lightning, leaves blowing all around. In Evangeline's relatively short experience on Earth, she had learnt that odd weather was often the sign of the supernatural.

The two rounded a corner and ran through an black, iron gate and stopped short at the site before them. A man in a white suit was standing, his back to them, and his foot placed on future Dean's neck. With a quick movement, he turned his foot and broke Dean's neck. Evangeline cringed at the audible crack, her grip tightening around Dean's hand. From the way Dean tensed beside her, she knew the person in front of her was Sam. Well, it was Sam's body; Lucifer was occupying him at the moment.

"Luci..." Her voice trailed off as he turned around at the sound, a smirk gracing his lips at the sight before him.

"Oh... hello," He greeted. As he moved, Evangeline and Dean caught sight of another body lying on the ground behind him. It was Faythe's and she wasn't moving. Lucifer followed their gaze before making a 'tsk' sound. "She was gone first. Charged at me... I was only defending myself."

The tone he used implied he was trying to sound innocent, like he had done nothing wrong. But in fact, there was a small underlying tone of satisfaction, like he had enjoyed killing her. At that, Evangeline felt her stomach twist. She wasn't sure how she would feel if Faythe had died, but feeling upset and hurt was far from what she had expected. But that's exactly how she felt as she stared at Faythe's body. She should feel happy that the girl who had killed her was dead, but she just wasn't.

"You killed her?" Evangeline said, her eyes pulling away from the girl to look at her older brother. Lucifer only nodded.

"I did." Silence fell over the three that were there. "Aren't you two a surprise?" Lucifer asked as he stepped towards the two.

Dean immediately put himself in between Evangeline and Lucifer protectively. Lightning flashed across the sky, and thunder rumbled directly after it. In the moment of white light, Lucifer had disappeared. Dean blinked his eyes several times, trying to see if he was really gone. He was. Dean relaxed, but only slightly. Something didn't feel right. And he wasn't going to completely let his guard down. He felt Evangeline's grip on his arm tighten; she felt it, too. Lucifer was gone, but there was a tense feeling in the air.

"You've come a long way to see this, haven't you?"

Dean whirled around to see Lucifer standing behind him. He immediately pulled Evangeline behind him, keeping her away from the devil. The emerald-eyed hunter glared hard at the fallen angel before him, not sure how to act or what to say. He didn't know what Lucifer wanted.

"Well, go ahead. Kill me," Dean said.

Lucifer's gaze wandered past the two before him and fell onto the two forms of the fallen soldiers from the future time. "Wouldn't that be a little... redundant?" He sighed, almost sympathetically, like he was really hurting for Dean. "I'm sorry. It must be painful, speaking to me in this—shape. But it had to be your brother. It had to be."

Lucifer reached to place a hand on Dean's shoulder in a comforting manner, but Dean wanted no part of his sympathy. He jerked back, and Lucifer's hand hesitated in the air for a moment before falling back to his side. The facial movements were Sam's, but the underlying malice and hate was Lucifer's. There was no pretending that this was Dean's little brother anymore, because it wasn't. It wasn't even hard to distinguish. Dean knew it wasn't Sam.

"You don't have to be afraid of me, Dean. What do you think I'm going to do?" Lucifer asked Dean then glanced at Evangeline, waiting for either of them to answer. It was Dean. And of course, he answered sarcastically.

"I dunno. Maybe deep-fry the planet?"

Lucifer turned his back on Dean and Evangeline to examine a red rose in a bush then turned back around to face them, silent for a moment.

"Why? Why would I want to destroy this stunning thing? Beautiful in a trillion different ways. The last perfect handiwork of God." Dean chose not to answer, so Lucifer continued on. "You ever hear the story of how I fell from Grace?"

"Oh, good God, you're not gonna tell me a bedtime story, are you? My stomach's almost out of bile," Dean replied. Lucifer ignored his sarcasm.

"You know why God cast me down? Because I loved him. More than anything. And then God created..." Lucifer smirked. "Well, God created you. The little... hairless apes. And then he asked all of us to bow down before you—to love you, more than him. And I said, 'Father, I can't.' I said, 'These human beings are flawed, murderous.' And for that, God had Michael cast me into hell. Now, tell me, does the punishment fit the crime? Especially, when I was right? Look at what six billion of you have done to this thing, and how many of you blame me for it."

"That's not true!" Evangeline exclaimed from behind Dean. "God didn't cast you out, you fell on your own. When He created humans, you didn't like that He had others to care for besides just us. And you rebelled."

Lucifer continued to smirk. "Eva. Little naive Eva. You believe what you hear, but not what you see. You listen to everyone, but can you truly think for your own? Can you truly believe on your own, or do you just go with the crowd?"

"You're not fooling me, you know that? With this sympathy-for-the-devil crap. I know what you are," Dean said.

"What am I?" Lucifer asked.

"You're the same thing, only bigger. The same brand of cockroach I've been squashing my whole life. An ugly, evil, belly-to-the-ground, supernatural piece of crap. The only difference between them and you is the size of your ego," Dean spat at him, anger flooding through him. He didn't care that he was staring at Sam's body; he knew it wasn't him.

Lucifer smiled. "I like you, Dean. I get what the other angels see in you. Goodbye. We'll meet again soon."

Dean glanced around him, at the chaos that had happened. Lightning still flashed across the sky and gunshots still sounded every now and again. His gaze landed on his future self and Faythe. He felt all the anger boil back into him, and he felt hot tears in his eyes. He glanced at Lucifer's retreating back and knew there was no way he would _ever_let Lucifer win.

"You better kill me now!" He shouted at Lucifer's turned back.

"Pardon?" Lucifer asked after turning back around.

"You better kill me now. Or I swear, I will find a way to kill you. And I won't stop," He said, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

This wasn't a threat; it was a promise. It was a promise to Sam that he would never let Lucifer use his body in this way. It was a promise to Castiel that he would help him find his Father if that's how the angel believed the war could be won. It was promise to Faythe to help her avenge her brother in a safe way that involved no more angels dying. It was a promise to Evangeline, to protect her, always. It was promise that he would save the world, solely on his own if he had to.

Lucifer simply smiled at the man in front of him as another tear fell from Dean's eyes. "I know you won't. I know you won't say yes to Michael, either. And I know you won't kill Sam. Whatever you do, you will always end up here. Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, we will always end up—here. I win." He paused. "So, I win."

Dean shook his head, his grip tightening on Evangeline's hand. "You're wrong." He would never let Lucifer win.

Lucifer gave a sympathetic smile. "See you in five years, Dean."

To Eva, Lucifer almost sounded sorry for the hunter. He almost sounded sad and upset. He almost sounded like he cared. And at one point in her life, she knew Lucifer had cared. She knew he had had a heart. But that was a long time ago, and now he was different. Lucifer wasn't the same sibling she knew, and now all he cared about was himself and destruction. She didn't even believe he truly cared about the demons he had created.

Lightning streaked across the sky before thunder followed, and when Dean blinked, Lucifer was gone. Dean felt himself let out a breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding. His hard facade fell, and he felt himself breaking again. He turned around only to see Zachariah there before the angel placed two fingers to Dean's forehead, bringing him back to the motel room he had been in last night. He glared at the angel.

"Oh, well, if it isn't the ghost of Christmas screw you," Dean replied sarcastically, needing something to distract himself from.

"Zachariah, you've shown Dean, now leave him alone," Eva added before either of them could say anything more. Zachariah smirked maliciously.

"Keep out of it, Judas," Zachariah snapped at Eva, calling her a traitor. "Enough Dean. You saw it. You saw what happens. You know what that means?" The angel took a step towards the hunter. "You're the only person who can prove the devil wrong."

"Man, I know someone who would like to get their hands on you," Dean returned, glaring at Zachariah. Zachariah spread his hands.

"Just say yes."

"How do I know this whole thing isn't one of your tricks?" Dean snapped. "Some more angel hocus-pocus, especially delivered for Dean Winchester."

"The time for tricks is over," Zachariah said seriously. "Give yourself over to Michael." He wasn't requesting this; he was demanding. He fully expected Dean to agree with him. "Say yes and we can strike. Before Lucifer gets to Sam. Before billions die." Dean turned away from the other man, meeting Eva's eyes. She nodded very subtly at him and he knew what he had to say. It might have seemed a selfish action to other people but Eva understood.

"Nah," Dean told him without turning back.

"'Nah'? You telling me you haven't learned your lesson?" Zachariah's voice was shocked, yet silky and dangerous. Dean smirked grimly.

"Oh, I've learned a lesson all right. Just not the one you wanted to teach." Dean watched Eva's eyes widen and he could imagine Zachariah becoming angered at his words.

"Well, I'll just have to teach it again. Because I got you now, boy, and I'm never letting you-" Before Zachariah could finish his sentence, Dean and Eva were pulled from the room. They appeared on a roadside in the middle of the night. Dean took a slight step to steady himself before he turned to see Castiel. Before he said anything, he glanced at Eva to check that she was physically okay. She straightened herself out before her face lit up in a grin.

"Cas!" she said, hugging her older brother. Dean chuckled as Cas awkwardly patted the younger angel on the shoulder.

"That's pretty nice timing, Cas," Dean commented. Castiel stepped out of Eva's embrace and nodded.

"We have an appointment," he said seriously, as if being transported into the future couldn't stop such a thing. Dean took a small step forward and placed his hand on Castiel's shoulder briefly.

"Don't ever change, Cas."

"How did Zachariah find you?" Castiel asked, ignoring Dean's comment.

"Long story. Let's just stay away from Jehovah's Witnesses from now on, okay?" Dean said as he pulled out his phone.

"What are you doing?" Both Castiel and Eva asked the same question at once. Dean lifted the dialling phone to his ear, his lips set in a determined line.

"Something I should have done in the first place," he said. Eva knew instantly who Dean was calling but Castiel had an oblivious expression on his face.

"Hey Sammy," Dean said when the other person had clearly answered, his voice cracking a bit. "I need to talk to you about something." There was a pause. "No, in person." Dean gave Sam a location before closing the phone and turning to Eva. The blonde angel was smiling at him, as if she was proud of his actions.

"We got a while to go, Sam would be over the other side of the county," Dean said while rolling his eyes but he was smiling. Eva giggled, a habit she'd managed to maintain from the future as they walked over to the Impala and climbed in. Castiel had vanished without a word.

"Isn't there someone else you should call too?" Eva asked as they drove. Dean raised an eyebrow at her. "Faythe. If you're going to meet up with Sam and make things right with that, then you owe her something. You have to help her find what happened to her brother." Eva's tone was serious and if Dean heard right, there was guilt and pain underlying it. Dean rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone.

_"Whoever the fuck this is better have a good reason for calling."_The response when Faythe answered was so her, Dean and Eva both laughed. Something had changed the angel hunter five years into the future. Dean was hoping to stop that change.

"It's Dean, Faythe."

"Oh hey Dean," Faythe said in a much friendlier tone on the other end. "Is the little angel brat still with you?" Dean rolled his eyes. It was an insult, but there was nothing malicious in her words, nothing like how she'd treated Eva in the future.

"Yes, Eva is still with me. Isn't that a good thing for you? Didn't you want to question her?" Dean asked smugly. There was a pause.

_"Yes, I suppose I did_," Faythe replied, her tone reluctant. _"Where can I meet you?"_Dean gave her the city name nearby to where he was going to meet Sam.

_"Listen Dean... Thanks. I'll be there in a couple of days."_The phone went dead and Dean tried to ignore the look Eva was giving him. They drove for another day or so, relaxing into the natural hunter life, sleeping in motels, eating in diners. Dean was glad to see Eva had relaxed further in the human world; she was learning to adapt.

Two days after they'd left Kansas City, Eva watched as Dean pulled up to a bridge down beside a highway. He leant against the bonnet of the Impala and Eva actually sat on it, surprised when Dean didn't object. One thing she had learnt very quickly was that Dean was very possessive of his car. She watched Dean's hands as they flipped the knife the demon Ruby had given them. Evangeline was an angel of the Lord. She was designed to be a warrior but she hated violence. However, her trip to the future had given her a new view on it. Sometimes, you needed to be able to defend yourself.

"Dean," she said and the emerald eyed hunter looked at her.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think... Do you think you could teach me how to use that?" she asked, gesturing to the knife. Dean raised his eyebrows in surprise. Before he could reply, another car pulled up to the stretch beside the bridge.

Evangeline watched as another man got out, the same man who Lucifer had been possessing in the future. He closed the door to the car before taking a deep breath and making his way over to Dean. He stopped once he was in front of the hunter, his hands in his pockets. Both men stayed silent for a moment, each just taking in the moment. It was Dean who spoke first.

"Sam... if you're serious and you want back in..." He flipped the knife around and held it out to Sam, handle first. "you should hang on to this. I'm sure you're rusty." Sam took the knife from Dean and studied it, not wanting to meet his brother's eyes. "Look, man, I'm sorry. I don't know. I'm...whatever I need to be. But I was, uh—wrong."

"What made you change your mind?" Sam asked as he glanced at Dean, then at the girl sitting on the Impala's hood. He narrowed his eyes curiously at her, never having seen her before but turned his gaze back onto Dean.

"Long story." Dean sighed, not wanting to relive all he had experienced. "The point is... maybe we are each other's Achilles heel. Maybe they'll find a way to use us against each other, I don't know. I just know we're all we've got. More than that. We keep each other human." He glanced at his little brother to show just how serious he was being about all of this.

Sam smiled, grateful. "Thank you. I won't let you down."

Dean smirked, his normal attitude back in place. "Oh, I know it. After all, you are the second best hunter I know."

Sam couldn't help but roll his eyes at that and even Evangeline did as well. "So what do we do now?" Sam finally asked.

"We make our own future," Dean stated simply without even bothering to think about it.

"Guess we have no choice," Sam added. Dean nodded.

"Exactly. We're going to make it," He said. There was silence before Sam glanced back at the blonde female sitting on the hood of his brother's car.

"So who's this?"

Dean followed his brother's gaze before smirking. "This is Evangeline. She's a fallen angel, and tagging along for the ride."

"A fallen angel?" Sam asked, his eyes widening slightly. For anyone else, that would've been weird to hear, but nothing was ordinary about Sam's life so he just accepted it.

"Cas asked me to watch out for her," Dean replied, and Sam nodded understandingly. He knew his brother would do just about anything for the angel.

"I'm-" Before Sam could introduce himself to the blonde angel, she smiled at him.

"Samuel Winchester. Pleasure to finally meet you," She said. Sam looked taken aback. Normally angels weren't too happy to see him.

"You, too," Sam said a little warily.

She definitely wasn't a normal angel, and he could see why she was fallen. Even just that small little statement from her showed Sam she didn't believe everything that the others did in heaven. She seemed to think for herself, and not just listening to what others told her. That was something Sam knew was frowned upon in heaven, just from speaking with Castiel. Sam smiled at her. She seemed sweet enough, but that didn't always go well with hunting. Sam was a little worried about having her along, to be honest.

The three climbed into the Impala, and Dean began to drive off.

"Where are we going?" Sam asked.

"To pick up Faythe," Dean replied.

"What?" Sam questioned. "Why?" He had missed so much while being away.

"Also a long story," Dean said.

"We've got the time," Sam stated.

"Let's just say I'd feel safer knowing I can keep an eye on what she does," Dean told his little brother who could only nod, not really knowing what else to say. He turned to look at Eva again, really curious to meet another fallen angel aside from Castiel.

"Can I ask you something?" he began and Evangeline nodded excitedly. Dean chuckled, noticing her movements in his rearview mirror.

"Yes, you can," she said.

"Why did you fall?" Sam asked, genuinely interested. A small furrow appeared in the blonde's brow as her face fell slightly.

"Oh. She bit her lip for a moment. "I defended Cas."

Sam gave her a confused look for a moment before asking, "Against who?"

"Well..." She fiddled with the hem of her shirt, obviously uncomfortable about not being back in heaven where she belonged. "against our siblings. He helped Dean out of Zachariah's prison, to get to you." She glanced up to meet Sam's gaze before continuing, "He disobeyed and the other angels didn't approve. So, he was kicked out. After he was brought back, of course. And I defended what he had done, that it wasn't right for us to be letting the apocalypse happen. We were supposed to defend humankind, not stand by and let their destruction happen."

"So you were kicked out?" Sam asked. She nodded her head. "This was recent?" He asked, and just like before she nodded.

"Yes. A few weeks ago." She paused for a moment. "Actually, four weeks and three days ago, to be exact."

"What?" Dean asked. "You couldn't have given us the hours and minutes, too?" He asked sarcastically as he glanced back at the blonde through the rearview mirror. Eva's blue orbs met his gaze head on.

"Would you like for me to?" She asked him, completely missing the sarcastic and teasing tone-very much like Castiel usually did.

Sam gave his brother an unamused look. "Dean's just being an ass. Ignore him." He turned back to Evangeline. "The last angel we met who had fallen... she had been reborn as a human," He said.

"Anna." Evangeline nodded. "And you are curious why it didn't happen to me?" She asked him, and Sam nodded his head. "Anna fell on her accord. She removed her own Grace; the angels did not kick her out. So, she was reborn again, which is what she wanted. To experience humanity fully. Castiel and I, we were thrown out by our superiors. So, to punish us, we were not reborn, just made human as if we _had _been reborn." Evangeline glanced down at herself. "Had I lived a human life, this is what I would look like at the age of twenty four.

Sam nodded his head, processing all she had told him. He loved knowledge and information, but sometimes it was a lot. Like now. This gave him a whole new perspective of angels, and gave him more to think about and research. Which is what he loved to do. He loved finding out new things on topics he thought he already knew about. He didn't know there were different ways to fall, but apparently there was. And angels were serious about punishing their own when on the wrong path. He glanced at Evangeline, studying her.

She seemed like she was adjusting well, despite what she had gone through. He wasn't sure how long she had been with Dean, but maybe his brother was helping her cope... in a non-sexual way, Sam hoped. Being an angel that had just fallen, that wasn't exactly a topic she was needing to be taught fully and extensively on... although he was sure Dean would be more than willing to offer his services to the young girl. It's not like Dean hadn't slept with an angel before... Anna had been the one that allowed Dean to check that sexual activity off of his list.

Sam shook his head, clearing the thoughts, before turning to his brother. "Have you filled her in on who Faythe is?" He asked his brother, the thought just occurring. Faythe hunted angels, and Evangeline would be exactly the type of thing Faythe would be wanting. An angel that couldn't defend herself.

"I did," Dean told Sam.

"I've met her," Evangeline said, piping up from the backseat. Sam turned to her, his eyes wide.

"You've... met her?" He asked glancing at Dean. "How'd that go?"

"Uh... before or after she tried to kill her?" Dean asked.

"That answers the question," Sam stated. "So, why are you meeting up with her again if you know she's looking for Evangeline?"

"Because. Somethings happened, and I'd just like to have Faythe around, to keep an eye on her, like I explained before," Dean said.

"Right, but-"

"Sam, I know what I'm doing," Dean told his little brother, a snappy tone entering his voice.

He clenched his jaw before taking a deep breath. Having Sam back felt right, but it was also like they were starting out hunting for the first time. There was tension in the air that hadn't been cleared, and Dean wasn't sure if it ever would be cleared. Sam had hurt him, and no amount of apologizing could fix that. He wished things could just be the way they used to be, but they couldn't. Maybe one day, but not right now. Now, he was watching every move Sam made and making sure he didn't go back on his word.


End file.
